Major roadworks concern Selby trader
A trader in a North Yorkshire town has said he is concerned major roadworks will affect his businesses.
Selby swing bridge and Doncaster Road are both undergoing structural repair work over the next 14 weeks.
Mark Wetherell, from department store Wetherell's of Selby, said he was worried the roadworks would affect the number of customers visiting the town.
North Yorkshire County Council said the work was scheduled to take place at the same time to minimise disruption.
'Open for business'
Selby swing bridge has closed for 14 weeks while it undergoes £550,000 worth of improvements to make it compliant with modern standards.
At the same time roadworks are being carried out on Doncaster Road over the next 10 weeks to provide better access to the hospital and civic centre.
Mr Wetherell said: "[I'm] Absolutely concerned, we do get a lot of traffic over the bridge.
"Selby is a thriving town and we must get the message across that we are open for business, we need to keep trading, we need customers to keep coming into Selby."
Councillor Gareth Dadd, who is responsible for highways in North Yorkshire, said: "We understand these two schemes will cause some considerable disruption to Selby, but we are doing everything possible to minimise difficulties for people.
"We cannot delay the bridge work further for safety reasons and the extensive programme of repairs we have set out will make the bridge fit for purpose for many years to come."
Mr Dadd said the council had decided to carry out the works at the same time over 14 weeks rather than running the improvements consecutively affecting traffic flow into Selby for 24 weeks.