Motorists will also be able to use the stretch of the Lebberston to Scarborough link road – which will replace a section of the old A165 Scarborough to Bridlington route – by next week, possibly as soon as Monday, as long as the weather allows final work to be carried out.

Nick West, North Yorkshire County Council's area manager for highways, said the section between the Mill Lane roundabout and Gatehouse Farm will be opened up next week.

He added: "We are anticipating that it's going to be fully operational by mid-December, depending on the weather, because there is still work such as surfacing to be done."

Mr West said that between now and the time when the road is fully open there would be a lot of switching of sections which are in use to allow the final work to be carried out.

Last month the project was delayed when contractors had to re-excavate some of the embankment at the South Cliff end because it wasn't up to standard.

The aim of the new road is to take traffic off the A165 and involves work between Lebberston and the Cayton Bay Holiday Park at one end, and the South Cliff Golf Club and the University of Hull, Scarborough campus, at the other.

After the road opens, the existing A165, which runs along the outskirts of Osgodby, will eventually become a minor road used mainly by local residents.

The new road is part of the £30.5 million Scarborough Integrated Transport Scheme which includes the two park and ride schemes and is designed to ease traffic congestion.

The 4.3km (2.7 miles) road to the west of the existing A165 will have a new roundabout at South Cliff while a bridge will be built over the A165 to the north of the roundabout for cyclists and pedestrians and provide access for golfers between the two sections of the golf course.

From Mill Lane the road will connect to the existing A165 at Gate House Farm and the plans involve a subway for pedestrians and cycle and horse users south of Mill Lane.

There will be a link road from the new Osgodby roundabout to Eastway and Priory Place and plans are also in place to landscape the area with 26 acres of trees and shrubs, 2.5 miles of hedgerow and four large ponds to collect surface water run-off.

More than 20 acres of grassland will be planted on the verges.

Earlier this week motorists travelling into Scarborough along Filey Road were puzzled to find that the section of road was unexpectedly closed. Mr West said: "Any closures will have had to have been arranged. I am not aware of any other closures."