LOCAL residents and all Northallerton road users must surely agree with Colin Telfer of Darlington (Echo, Mar 26) and his frustration caused by the delays and tailbacks due to the railway level crossings on two of the main routes through the country town of North Yorkshire.

Hambleton District Council has plans under consideration, and announced earlier that £6m had been secured to part fund a relief road joining Darlington Road and Stokesley Road by bridging the railway line. This was part of a comprehensive development at the northern outskirts of Northallerton.

A bridge could be built on site as a bridge construction company, Allerton Inudstries, is adjacent to the proposed route of the relief road.

The Bedale and Leeming Bar by-pass, which is already under construction costing £34m, has central government and county council funding.

It would seem that a more urgent relief road at Northallerton does not warrant the same investment from central government, which is surprising when two smaller communities take precedence over the county town of the largest county where there is a more pressing need for a relief road to relieve daily congestion and problems for emergency vehicles which are delayed at the railway crossings on many occasions.

There is a general and district council election taking place on May 7. Perhaps a new representative at Westminster and more robust arguments and pressure from a re-formed district council might result in the long overdue resolution of a worsening traffic problem in Northallerton.

N Smith, Northallerton.