An outer ring road for York had been proposed as far back as 1948 but it wasn't until 1976 that the first section, the York Bypass, opened. The second section was constructed in three phases. The first phase, the northern section between the A19 and the A64, opened in 1986, the second and third sections opened the following year - phase two was between the A64 and the A59 and phase three was the short section between the A59 and A19 - this section took longer to construct due to it having to cross the River Ouse and the East Coast Main Line. Phase three was opened by the Secretary of State for TransportPaul Channon on 11 December 1987.
Route
The south-eastern section runs as a continuous dual carriageway with grade separated junctions at Grimston Bar, Fulford and Askham Bar. The north-western section is a single carriageway road, and has eleven roundabouts.
Proposed improvements
Several bodies have proposed improvements to the single carriageway A1237. These include:
Dualling the road by 2030 as detailed in the North Yorkshire Strategic Prospectus.
In the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund, improvements to seven roundabouts between the Wetherby Road and Monks Cross junctions. The design includes ensuring room for future dualling of the carriageways; increasing the number of approach and exit lanes at the roundabouts; enlarging their diameter; three subways for pedestrians/cyclists at busy crossing points and two bridges to accommodate a widened road.
However two previous proposed improvements were rejected. Immediately after the opening of the single carriageway A1237 congestion became a problem, especially at peak times, and the 1989 Department for Transport's Roads for Prosperitywhite paper included improvements to the section between. The proposals were for a new continuous through-route running parallel to the existing road with just a single grade separated junction at the B1363. The existing road, and the roundabouts, would have been retained for local access. The plans were subsequently dropped. Also later plans for dualling 7.8 km, at a cost £31M, of the A1237 York Outer Ring Road were rejected by the Regional Transport Board in 2009.
Timeline
1976: A64 York bypass completed
1984: Start of construction of A1237 Phase I
1985: Start of construction of A1237 Phase II and Phase III
