MILD spring weather is to blame for a spate of road works across York, according to City of York Council.

Some of the city's major routes have been plagued with works during February and March.

But according to the council's head of highway regulation, Peter Evely, this is because winter months are too cold to lay weather- sensitive concrete.

Mr Evely said: "When it's really cold conditions, you can't lay concrete. The same applies to a certain extent to some of the other materials that we use.

"There's a lot of work we haven't yet managed to do, and when you dig a hole, you've got to fill it up again.

"It's like the spring - when the bulbs come out, so do the road works. The works are few and far between, it is just that there are some fairly large ones. The majority are being done by the utilities."

The council also said that the recent fire strikes had led to a build-up of works.

A spokesman said the council had not wanted to block up York's small lanes with road works during the strike.

He said: "When we found out the dates for the fire strikes, we tried to plan road works around them. We knew that the green goddesses were slower than ordinary fire engines, so to send them round the buildings seemed a bit dangerous."

Currently there are temporary traffic signals on the A59 in Poppleton Road, for work on combined sewer overflows. These will continue for another three weeks from Monday.

There are also temporary traffic lights on the A19 - Bootham - at the junction with Burton Stone Lane, although the road works there are due to finish this weekend.

Resurfacing in Heworth Green will take place on two Sundays, March 16 and 23.

Motorists will be prevented from travelling through Walmgate Bar from Lawrence Street on Sunday, March 23, because of restoration work.

Transco works to replace metal gas pipes in Bishopthorpe Road, currently closed to northbound traffic, are due to finish on March 21.

But from Monday, March 17, there will be traffic signals for four weeks on the A19 at the Rawcliffe Lane junction while road works are carried out there.

Updated: 08:55 Friday, March 14, 2003