A64 Tadcaster: Crane fire closes road eastbound overnight
- Published
The fire closed both carriageways of the A64
A section of the A64 in North Yorkshire will remain closed overnight after a fire which engulfed a 100-tonne crane damaged the carriageway.
North Yorkshire firefighters were called to the mobile crane fire at Tadcaster at 07:24 BST.
The blaze saw both the east and westbound carriageways closed, leading to significant congestion and delays.
No-one was injured, however a large smoke plume saw nearby residents told to keep their windows closed.
The westbound section reopened at about 11:00 BST, however the eastbound road sustained significant damage.
Highways England said: "A complex and protracted recovery operation is expected with resurfacing required following extensive fire damage to the carriageway.
"Resurfacing is scheduled to take place overnight with a current estimated reopening time of 06:00 BST."
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said fire crew returned to the scene at about 16:30 to assist with the removal of the vehicle.
Shortly after 21:00 Highways England said, external the recovery was "going well", adding that contractors were "on standby ready to commence resurfacing".
The road is not expected to reopen before 06:00 on Friday
Highways England said the fire had caused extensive damage to the carriageway
At the height of the blaze, the service had crews from York, Acomb and Tadcaster on site along with five vehicles.
People living nearby had reported a series of loud bangs earlier, which the service said was the vehicles tyres exploding.
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Motorists were earlier advised to avoid the area and Highways England is still warning of heavy congestion on diversion routes in the area.
It said at 08:30 BST there had been three miles (4.8km) of congestion westbound and four miles (6.4km) of queues on the eastbound carriageway.
The agency said it was working to release trapped traffic on the eastbound carriageway.
The blaze is causing a large amount of smoke and nearby residents have been urged to keep their windows closed.
The disruption also caused delays to bus services between Leeds and York.
Several motorists had been travelling to an event featuring fitness expert Joe Wicks at Castle Howard, near Malton.
Mr Wicks earlier tweeted, external he had delayed the start of the session to allow people a little more time to get there.
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Danny Harkin Jnr tweeted, external: "PEWithJoeOnTour Looks like we won't make this today as we are stuck on the A64 because of a lorry fire. Me and my boy are gutted. Hopefully it clears soon. Even if it's for the meet and greet."
However, some people were forced to turn back including 0094 who tweeted, external: "Sorry Joe but we had to turn back to Sheffield. We have our PE with Joe T-shirts and my girlfriend is driving us back with tears steaming down her face."
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