HUNDREDS of bodies could be exhumed to make way for the £160m upgrade of Hull's busiest road.
The proposed route of the new-look Castle Street cuts through part of the Holy Trinity burial ground.
A previous assessment suggested that between 2,500 and 11,000 human burials at the site might be affected by any new roadworks in the area.
Now Highways Agency officials are trying to find out how many exhumations will be required as part of the latest upgrade scheme.
They are working with archaeologists from Oxford University as well as officials from Hull City Council and Holy Trinity Church to assess the likely impact on the burial ground.
The burial ground was originally laid out to relieve the pressure on burial space around Holy Trinity Church.
Although it closed in 1861, it has remained largely untouched since then, despite the construction of the current Castle Street dual carriageway and the nearby Mytongate junction in the late 1970s.
James Holmes, the Highway Agency's project director for the Castle Street scheme, said: "We estimate about one third of the burial ground will be lost.
"At the moment, we are working with the archaeologists from Oxford and the city council and Holy Trinity Church to examine exactly how many bodies will need to be moved.
"The archaeology work will help us understand the situation a lot better.
"There is a proper process to be followed if bodies have to be exhumed in projects like this, and we have to follow that process.
"It ranges from ensuring there are arrangements in place for bodies to be buried at a new site to contacting any relatives to inform them what is happening.
"In this case, that could be quite a challenge because of the age of the site."
It is believed the exhumation process could take about a year to complete, accounting for a quarter of the estimated length of the entire project.
As well as old gravestones and tombs, an original boundary wall and up to 24 mature trees are expected to be cleared.
Mr Holmes also revealed experts were checking whether the burial ground and nearby empty buildings were being used by bats as roosts.
As a protected species, the removal of roosting bats would require a licensing approval from English Nature. He said: "A number of bat surveys are being carried out in the burial ground and in the old Earl de Grey pub, where roosts have been recorded before.
"The removal of mature trees along the A63 may affect potential bat roosts but these would be replaced with alternative roosts."
Details of the proposed road scheme are on display today at a public exhibition at the Mercure Royal Hotel in Ferensway, city centre, from 10am to 4pm.
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