AN ambition to end decades of congestion in North Yorkshire’s county town by building a link road and bridge over a railway line looks set to become a reality in a year’s time.

A North Yorkshire County Council meeting will hear construction teams were working both east and west of the railway line at the North Northallerton development to push forward the scheme, which is designed to alleviate traffic in the town stemming from Low Gates level crossing.

The road and bridge is part of the development which will include 900 homes, a shopping centre, extra care facilities, a primary school and community uses, including sports pitches and allotments.

Planning permission for the Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey development states no more than 495 of the homes can be occupied until the link road and bridge have been opened to through traffic.

Work to complete the final element of the link road, the embankments and bridge started in July.

The meeting will hear the overhead electric diversion work took longer than anticipated and the programme is a week behind schedule, and weekend working on drainage has been allowed to make up time. However, the scheme is scheduled to be completed by the end of next October.