Church drivers trapped in 'roadworks prison'

7:00am Friday 28th September 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Emma Cruces, Reporter

DRIVERS gridlocked for up to half an hour a day are enduring Traffic misery at a town’s ‘gateway’.

The junction of Henry Street, Church, and Blackburn Road, Accrington, has seen traffic at a standstill during rush hour due to road works. The result has seen drivers sit in gridlocked traffic for up to half an hour going in to, or out of Accrington and Church.

The work by Gas Alliance on the ‘Hyndburn Gateway’ is said to have been delayed, while temporary traffic lights further down Blackburn Road, due to an unsafe building, have also had an effect.

Residents and councillors have demanded answers after work appeared to stop for two weeks, yet temporary lights remained.

The Gas Alliance said workmen were working in other areas to connect the lines and conduct testing after completing work on the main carriageway.

Temporary traffic lights are expected to be removed the first week of October.

Hyndburn opposition leader Peter Britcliffe said: “It’s easier to break out of prison than to get into Accrington at the moment.

“Traffic has been brought to a standstill and motorists are using smaller streets as rat runs. Residents are understandably angry.

“I don’t understand why this couldn’t have been staggered until the Blackburn Road works were completed further down by the unsafe building.”

Ward councillor Tony Dobson said: “People are pretty upset because the boards claim the work should have been done by now. Added to that there hasn’t been any sign of a workman for weeks at the site, which infuriates people. It’s having a huge impact and it’s been badly managed.”

A spokeswoman for National Grid, for the Gas Alliance, said: “Engineers are testing the work now it has been completed.

“Rather than remove the lights and possibly have to reinstall them, we have left them. The lights should be removed by the first week of October.”

Comments (4)

11:46am Fri 28 Sep 12

Ian123xyz says...

Imagine allowing work to take place at two major junctions at the same time. Unbelievable.
Imagine allowing work to take place at two major junctions at the same time. Unbelievable. Ian123xyz

1:36pm Fri 28 Sep 12

jack01 says...

As usual, no concern or thought for the thousands of people who have jobs/school etc. who have to endure the unnecessary delays. They should have workers on site 24/7 until the works are complete. There are now three sets of temporary traffic lights along Blackburn Road - one at the Imperial pub, one at Willows Lane and those at Church traffic lights - the three busiest junctions in the area - all at a standstill. 10 weeks was the timescale - its been a lot more than that already. Never mind, as soon as this is finished they are starting on Accrington Road in Blackburn with gas works so that should be equally as chaotic.

People wonder why no businesses are investing in places like Accrington when this is going on. Potential customers will go elsewhere if they have any sense, just to avoid this chaos.
As usual, no concern or thought for the thousands of people who have jobs/school etc. who have to endure the unnecessary delays. They should have workers on site 24/7 until the works are complete. There are now three sets of temporary traffic lights along Blackburn Road - one at the Imperial pub, one at Willows Lane and those at Church traffic lights - the three busiest junctions in the area - all at a standstill. 10 weeks was the timescale - its been a lot more than that already. Never mind, as soon as this is finished they are starting on Accrington Road in Blackburn with gas works so that should be equally as chaotic. People wonder why no businesses are investing in places like Accrington when this is going on. Potential customers will go elsewhere if they have any sense, just to avoid this chaos. jack01

3:37pm Fri 28 Sep 12

retired one says...

Whenever I have been caught up in these delays, no-one has been working on it at all, and this has been at different times of day.
Whenever I have been caught up in these delays, no-one has been working on it at all, and this has been at different times of day. retired one

7:51pm Fri 28 Sep 12

cricketmad says...

It's been going on for weeks, this isn't "new" news, It adds about half an hour a day to my bus journey to and from work and then the ****-ups by Transdev add another 15 minutes or so, It'll be great when it all moves up the road near the Tesco juction towards Blackburn, I may as well just sleep at work!
It's been going on for weeks, this isn't "new" news, It adds about half an hour a day to my bus journey to and from work and then the ****-ups by Transdev add another 15 minutes or so, It'll be great when it all moves up the road near the Tesco juction towards Blackburn, I may as well just sleep at work! cricketmad

Comments are closed on this article.

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree