HIGHWAYS bosses may build a new bridge over the A64 to help farmers hit by the closure of gaps in the central reservation.

Every remaining gap on the dual carriageway between York and Tadcaster is set to shut in an effort to improve motorists' safety.

Numerous accidents have been caused over the years by drivers colliding with vehicles passing through gaps to get on to the opposite carriageway.

But a number of farmers who use the gaps to get into their farms have raised concerns about the impact of the closures.

The Evening Press reported last month that Paula Lister, of Steeton Grange Farm, was worried about the dangers for vehicles getting out on to the westbound carriageway from her farm.

She claimed the gap closures had actually increased the risks, because it had been safer to nip across to the gap than to emerge on to the westbound carriageway without a slip road.

But the agency said such acceleration lanes could not be provided for individual properties. Now the agency says that in an attempt to address some of the farmers' concerns, it has launched an initial assessment into the possibility of providing a bridge in the Street Houses area, near Tadcaster.

"This would provide a safe crossing for farm traffic, plus pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders," said a spokeswoman. She stressed that such a bridge, if provided, would only link into farm access roads and tracks, not the existing local road network.

But local district councillor Brian Percival said he believed the bridge was a "non-starter", which might only help one of five farms affected by gap closures. He said different solutions were needed for each farm.

He also castigated the authorities over their failure to replace a bus stop on the A64 near the Bilbrough Top junction, which was removed during construction of a new flyover.

He said people were putting themselves at risk by jumping the central reservation barriers to get to other bus stops further along the dual carriageway. He claimed the agency had the money to pay for a new stop and the Yorkshire Coastliner bus company wanted to use one. "So why has this not been sorted out?"

The agency said it had agreed to work with police and Coastliner in an attempt to identify an alternative location for the Redhill Field Lane bus stop.

"Any proposed new location will have to meet strict safety requirements - there are risks inherent in slow moving buses pulling out into a fast-moving dual carriageway," said the spokeswoman.

"We would also have to ensure the bus stop does not affect vehicles using the acceleration and deceleration lanes on the new Redhill Field Lane access. In the meantime, we strongly advise pedestrians attempting to access the existing stops to use the new Bilbrough flyover."

Updated: 09:54 Friday, September 09, 2005