A1237 road

A1237 York outer ring road during construction near junction for Acomb, Acomb Park and Askham Bryan

An outer ring road for York had been proposed as far back as 1948 by members of York City Council's Civic Committee. The scheme proposed by Adshead, Needham and Minter was grander in scale than currently exists. The northern section, based on junctions with the old A64 route, would have started clockwise from the current A64 eastbound turn-off to Askham Richard and Bilbrough. It would have passed to the north west of Nether Poppleton and Skelton. It would still run south of Haxby and Wigginton, but continue more easterly than the current road to rejoin the A64 north of Stockton-on-the-Forest.[1]

The case for a solution to the increasing traffic management issues in the centre of the city of York during the 1960s were primarily to aid the local tourism industry. The first proposals were for an inner ring road that would be a dual carriageway. This met opposition as it would call for demolition of homes and many archaeological sites. This resulted in a public inquiry in 1972 that backed the inner ring road proposal, but the decision remained with the Secretary of State for the Environment, who eventually ruled against it in 1975, by which time the construction of the dual carriageway A64 was nearly complete.[2]

The inner ring road proposals were in contrast to 1958 report for the Minister for Housing and Local Government and the local council, by Lord Esher, entitled York: A Study in Conservation. This attempted to address modernising four English cities without undue impact on their heritage. The York Corporation, in contrast, still maintained their preference for the inner ring road, though this was subsequently limited to the current layout around the outside of the city walls.[3][4]

To cater for the numerous proposed developments on the outskirts of York, such as Clifton Moor, the decision was taken to construct a road to the west and north of York to link to the A64. This came out of evidence given to the 1972 Public Inquiry into the proposed new Inner Ring Road. Studies conducted by Professor Smeed indicated an Outer Ring Road with radial roads was the best solution.[5]

The A1237 was the second part of the outer ring road and was constructed in three phases some 11 years after the first part, the A64 York Bypass, was completed. This was due to different organisations being responsible for the two roads and their strategic planning. The first phase of construction started in 1984 on the northern section between the A19 and the A64. It opened in 1986. Phase two and three started construction in 1985 with the second and third sections opening the following year in September and December respectively. 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 Transport Paul Channon on 11 December 1987.

Cycle crossing for A1237 near junction for Acomb, Acomb Park and Askham Bryan

This is a single carriageway road, and has twelve roundabouts. Starting at the western end going clockwise, the road begins as one of the exits from the grade separated junction with the A64 exit for Copmanthorpe, Askham Bryan and York North. The last 1 mile section ends with the double roundabout at Hopgrove that links Malton Road and the A1237 with the A64 to complete the York Outer Ring Road.

Congestion at peak times remains an issue and has led to studies that show that delays at all junctions will lead to an increase in journey times ranging between two and three times longer compared to 2003. A study from March 2001 and February also recorded 172 accidents, of which 21 were serious and 5 involved a fatality.[14]