PRECISE planning is needed to avoid work upgrading Castle Street from disrupting Hull's City of Culture status if its bid is successful.
That is the view of city council officials ahead of a decision due later this year on whether or not Hull will succeed Derry-Londonderry as the UK Capital of Culture in 2017.
By then, work is expected to have started in earnest on the long-awaited £160m improvement scheme on Hull's busiest road, which carries 54,000 vehicles a day.
The city's waterfront is likely to host a number of large-scale events on a similar scale to the Freedom Festival if Hull is chosen.
But the prospect of major construction work in Castle Street at the same time has already been factored into early planning in the event of a successful bid.
Mike Ibbotson, the city council's transport policy manager, said: "If we were City of Culture tomorrow, people would be saying, 'look at this horrible road'.
"At least by 2017 we will hopefully be doing something about it.
"It could be a way of saying, 'we can do this' and sell it as something that is happening for the better."
However, Mr Ibbotson admitted the road improvement scheme was likely to be "very challenging and very complicated" because of its location and expected four-year duration.
He said the early construction of a proposed iconic pedestrian bridge between Princes Quay and the Marina would be essential to provide access to the waterfront.
"Early discussions need to take place with all parties and it will be crucial to have the bridge at the marina in place early in the construction contract."
Talks are still continuing over how such a bridge could be funded as it is not included in the main scheme's allocated budget.
Jon Pywell, the council's assistant head of service for regeneration, said early planning to minimise disruption was essential if the bid was successful.
"Given time and careful planning with our partners, we can deliver a great experience around 2017 by factoring in Castle Street.
"The City of Culture bid is a programme for 365 days, the full year.
"We will have somewhere in the region of 1,500 events and ten to 15 of them will be Freedom-sized festivals throughout the year.
"Not all of them will be in the city centre but there are events proposed around the waterfront and the Fruit Market.
"My view is that we need make sure that as a city we can deal with this. It's not just about the A63, it's about the whole city preparing to welcome visitors.
"We have got an opportunity now to work out how visitors will move around the city and how we can make it a great experience for them and for people who live in Hull."
He pointed to a recent event in Derry's City of Culture programme which attracted 400,000 visitors, saying: "Derry has a population of 160,000. That is the kind of thing we have to plan for if we win."
Work on Castle Street is scheduled to start in early 2016.
