YORK will be spared Easter traffic gridlock after Highways Agency chiefs announced that all four lanes of the A64 will be open for the busy holiday period.

Another milestone in the scheme to develop the road at Copmanthorpe was due to be completed today when 11 concrete beams were to be lowered into place to form the second half of the new underpass.

The Highways Agency has confirmed that the work will allow it to open all four lanes of one of York's busiest roads, in time for Easter.

Work has been progressing to upgrade the A64 since the autumn of last year. It is not expected to be completed until July.

The start of work meant traffic gridlock for motorists trying to get in and out of York and resulted in an Evening Press campaign to Get York Moving.

Each beam, which weighs up to 17 tonnes and is up to 22 metres in length, were being lowered into place using a 250-tonne crane to support the new carriageway and form part of the underpass.

So far, more than 50 tonnes of reinforced steel and 800 tonnes of concrete have been used in preparation for the underpass.

The Highways Agency said that once the beams were in place, the bridge desk would be cast on top, forming the new westbound carriageway.

This work will be completed before the end of March, allowing a contraflow to be removed and the road to open from March 29 to April 2.

Afterwards, the westbound carriageway will then be closed again to allow work to be finished. It is expected that all restrictions on the A64 will be removed at the end of May and work will continue on the underpass until it opens in early July.

Project manager David Phillips said: "We are doing everything we can to get the works completed as quickly as possible and with the least disruption to motorists.The installation of the deck for the new westbound carriageway is one of the major parts of the work, and will enable the Highways Agency to reopen the road in time for the busy Easter weekend."

Updated: 11:25 Thursday, February 14, 2002