Roadworks and lane closures on the A505 around Royston have been causing long delays in the town this week, much to the dismay of motorists.
The closures, which started on Monday, is make way for work to be carried out on the new A505 junction to the Royston Gateway development.
The development will see Aldi and an M&S Foodhall on land between York Way and the A505, a project that has generally been well-received by the town.
However, the works are scheduled until August 17 and they – and subsquent travel disruption because of parts of the A505 being down to one lane – are likely to last that long.
A Herts County Council spokesman said the dates for the works were decided so as not to clash with any other scheduled works for the Royston area, with the potential to cause greater disruption.
In some cases this week, motorists have taken to Royston Reporting Page on Facebook to describe it taking over an hour to get off the town industrial area and as long as two hours to get from one end of Royston to another.
Louise Moore’s journey from the industrial estate to the Coombelands estate took one hour 45 minutes on Monday. She said: “I know that’s why it’s like this and I’m very happy for the new shops to come but this can’t continue for the next seven weeks!”
Emma Jones said: “Surely they can’t have this going on for seven weeks, can’t they work between rush hour? It’s bad enough through Royston as it is.”
Bernie Edwards said: “Everyone is looking for alternative routes into and through Royston, unfortunately progress for some will be detrimental to others.”
And another, who didn’t want to be named, said: “I doubt they finish on time, it will be like this until September.”
And Kevin Delaney said: “They should have done this in August when there’s less cars on the road.”
The county council spokesman said: “We appreciate that the lane closure on the A505 relating to the Royston Gateway Development is causing some disruption and inconvenience to motorists. We apologise for this and thank road users for their patience. We are looking to see if there are any extra measures we can take to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here