THE CLOSURE of a major bridge near Selby could cause chaos for residents and commuters from next week.

North Yorkshire County Council are set to carry out repair work on Haddlesey Bridge on the A19 at Chapel Haddlesey, from October 1, removing and replacing bearings within the bridge, the road surface and ballast walls.

The work could take up to three months, with the road closed and diversions in place for heavy goods vehicles along the M62 and up to the A63 through Camblesforth.

Bus services between Selby, Doncaster and Pontefract will also be disrupted, with Chapel Haddlesey and Burn no longer served by the 405, X45 or 476. Details of the amended timetables are available at arrivabus.co.uk/yorkshire

The 626/026S Chapel Haddlesey to Brayton High School and Selby High School service will extend to Selby Bus Station for passengers attending Selby College, and Chapel Haddlesey and Burn will be served by a dial-a-ride service, the 405C, operating at set times from Monday to Saturday to link with Hut Green for connections to the Arriva service to Doncaster and with Selby, with a peak journey in each direction and two journeys off-peak. This service must be booked the day before travel by phoning Oz Travel on 07720 882889 before 8pm. Full details of 405C are available at northyorks.gov.uk

Town councillor Steve Shaw-Wright said he expected the bridge closure to "cause major disruption from the first of October until almost Christmas, if not beyond".

He said: "Many local commuters will face difficult journeys to work as one of the main routes between Selby and Doncaster is cut off. Yet again local residents will have to allow extra time to get to work, schools or colleges..

"I'm aware maintaince work has to be done, however undertaking this type of work during autumn and winter appears to me to be misguided. I'm also aware that some schools and colleges have had to rearrange student transport. There will also be detrimental affect upon trade in Selby, yet again. I would have thought that undertaking the work during school holidays would have enabled longer days of work and shorter overall disruption."

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways, said: "We appreciate there will be some disruption, but this will be kept to a minimum and we hope to make available a taxi service to help with some journeys."

County Councillor John McCartney said: "I have been hugely impressed with the way that both the passenger transport team and the home to school transport team at County Hall have worked to ensure that every community directly impacted upon by the closure will continue to be part of the public transport network during the closure. And that every student will be able to get to and from school or college while this vital work is done to ensure that Haddlesey Bridge remains safe for the benefit of local residents as well as other road users."