THREE-WAY traffic lights have been installed at York's Leeman Road tunnel as work on the York Central development begins to escalate.

City of York Council said similar traffic management measures will be in place until the autumn and risked causing delays for drivers at peak times, but said these would be kept to the minimum possible by the authority.

A spokeswoman said the signals would operate from today on Leeman Road at the Cinder Lane, National Railway Museum and station junction through the tunnel by Marble Arch.

"Advance notice signs have been up on the road for over a week to make members of the public aware of the upcoming works," she said.

"The road will be open in both directions but there could be delays at peak times as a result of the temporary traffic signals.

"This will be kept to the minimum possible by having manual control of the signals during peak times.

"The council’s network monitoring team will also be adjusting signal timings on the existing signalised junctions in the area to help minimise disruption, but we are encouraging people to plan ahead where possible."

The Press reported last month how drivers were facing several years of severe disruption on York's roads as a series of massive projects gets underway, including York Central.

The council revealed that key routes would be hit by closures, contraflows and temporary traffic lights to allow for the scheme and railway station entrance redevelopments,  as well as dualling of the outer ring road, repairs to key bridges, installation of new water mains and construction of new security bollards.

Highways bosses pledged to do all they could to programme and coordinate the works to mitigate the impact on the public, but warned that some disruption was inevitable during a period of unprecedented investment in the city.

Details of the schemes included temporary traffic signals for the next 12-18 months in Leeman Road during construction of new junctions as part of the York Central scheme, plus overnight closures for plant deliveries, and then a full 24/7 closure of the Leeman Road tunnel for an unspecified period in 2025.

The 45 acre York Central development promises up to 2,500 new homes and over 1 million sq ft of offices, retail and leisure space as part of a new high-quality commercial and residential quarter for York.

The project includes the National Railway Museum’s controversial proposals to build a new central hall across Leeman Road, which will block direct access to the city centre.

Labour councillors predicted last November that motorists were facing '‘Carmageddon’ in York this year because a series of major road repairs and improvements would cause traffic gridlock.