HOPES are rising that one of the county's busiest roads will be upgraded.

Following a fact-finding tour, Transport Minister David Jamieson said he was giving the go-ahead for an in-depth study of the economic and safety benefits of improving the A64.

Two years ago, Mr Jamieson gave the go-ahead for an initial study to be carried out on the road, which links the Yorkshire coast, Ryedale and the main motorway networks of the A1(M), M1, and A19.

He told local council and business leaders he wanted to see the project taken forward and for detailed budgets to be produced.

He said that there were two main criteria on which improvements would be judged - whether they would be good value for money, road safety, and environmental impact.

Earlier, Mr Jamieson had driven along the road to view its shortcomings.

Scarborough Borough Council chief executive John Trebble said the coast was finding it difficult to attract new investment because of the state of the A64.

He said it was also affecting tourist and conference industries because the A64 was seen as an unreliable road with heavy holiday traffic in summer, and an increasing amount of heavy goods lorries throughout the year, as well as agricultural vehicles.

Ryedale councillor Elizabeth Shields said the safety aspect of the A64 was vital.

"Over the last ten to 12 years, we have seen a total of about 50 people killed," she said.

"In addition, 40 people are seriously injured every year."