A Government Minister is intervening in the Close the Gaps campaign after the Evening Press presented a dossier exposing the dangers of an A64 accident blackspot.

Evening Press chief reporter Mike Laycock explains the details of the A64 gap danger after handing over our dossier of reports on the matter to Roads Minister Lord Whitty. The Minister has now promised to look at the case personally

Roads Minister Lord Whitty will ask for a special report from the Highways Agency into options for improving safety at Bilbrough Top on the dual carriageway between York and Tadcaster.

And he hopes to see the controversial gap in the central reservation for himself during a planned visit to North Yorkshire next March.

The Minister is also stressing that safety is one of his highest priorities, and always comes before commercial considerations.

An Evening Press deputation travelled to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions headquarters in London yesterday to present Lord Whitty with an 800-signature petition calling for the gap to be shut.

Our dossier also revealed the terrible dangers posed by traffic passing through the gap. Stills from a 12-hour video surveillance operation conducted by Sky High Traffic Data on our behalf showed lorries making a series of dangerous manoeuvres, including a U-turn which brought traffic in the outside lane to a halt.

The Minister also saw articles about the experiences of motorists involved in frightening accidents at the gap, and copies of letters from police, fire and ambulance chiefs in support of the campaign, along with a letter from a Tadcaster school head worried about the safety of pupils travelling along the A64 each day in school buses.

The handover was organised by Selby MP John Grogan after plans to present the petition to the Minister during a recent visit to Selby fell through because Lord Whitty was ill. The Minister said the ultimate intention was to close all the gaps, once a flyover was built to carry traffic across the dual carriageway. "It's not a financial problem," he said, adding that closure earlier would have implications for local access.

"It would clearly have an effect on traffic." He said he would ask the agency to report back on what steps might be taken to improve safety in the meantime. "I hope to be able to see it when I am visiting the area."

Mr Grogan said later: "I'm pleased we have been able to present the petition in person. It brings the matter to the top of his in-tray. I very much hope he will be able to visit the gap himself in March, and I'm encouraged he has promised to seek a report on the options from the Highways Agency, and also read a report on a seminar I am organising early next year to discuss this issue. It's good progress."

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