The Contract was awarded to Sir Alfred McAlpine & Sons Ltd in the tender sum of £5.708 million and commenced on the 30^th October 1972 and was completed in October 1974.

The works pass through the magnesian limestone escarpment east of Ferrybridge in cutting before running out onto the flat agricultural lands to the east. There is one interchange with the A19 Doncaster - Selby Road at Whitley.

Of the 22 structures on the contract the most interesting are the Flyboat Canal Bridge which carries the motorway over the Knottingley and Goole Canal on a cantilever and suspended span 25° skew bridge, and a reinforced earth retaining wall adjacent to the South subway of the Whitley Interchange.

The Flyboat Canal Bridge has abutments and piers supported on H steel bearing piles which, in turn, support post-tensioned anchor (13m) and cantilever(11m) spans. The pre-cast post-tensioned suspended span beams, 30m long weighing 75 tonnes were placed over the navigable channel.

The Whitley Bridge experimental reinforced earth retaining wall embodied a new concept of lightweight hexagonal glass reinforced cement panels acting as permanent shutters to the retained earth which is stabilised by the inclusion of horizontal strips of galvanised steel or fibreglass tied to the front face and running directly back from it.