Delays into Royston to continue as building new A505 junction gets under way
There has been heavy congestion in Royston due to a lane of the A505 closing. Picture: Gillian Robinson - Credit: Archant
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.
There has been heavy congestion in Royston due to a lane of the A505 closing. Picture: Bernie Edwards - Credit: Archant
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.
There has been heavy congestion in Royston due to a lane of the A505 closing. Picture: Louise Moore - Credit: Archant
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!”
Most Read
- 1 Family of patient who died from drug overdose speak out after inquest
- 2 Every household in the UK to get £400 to help with rising energy bills
- 3 Police find body in search for missing 71-year-old Raymond
- 4 Stevenage's Lister Hospital changes maternity visiting guidance
- 5 Explained: What the cost of living support package means for you
- 6 Council confirms first monkeypox case in Hertfordshire
- 7 MP visits Royston lab to learn about local success story
- 8 North Herts grass verge cutting to be reduced
- 9 All aboard for Steam at the Hoops festival in Bassingbourn
- 10 Axing BBC TV news from Cambridge 'a backward step' says MP
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.”
