TRAFFIC chaos has returned to Brownhill with a vengeance.

One resident says a new set of temporary traffic lights has practically made her a prisoner in the house and delays have caused people to be late for work and children late at school.

Mrs Marylyn McLean claims it takes at least 20 minutes just to get from one side of the roundabout to the other when the signals are in operation.

Mrs McLean, of Roe Lee Park, needs to travel just across the roundabout to Walden Road, where she picks up children to take them back across the roundabout to St Thomas's School. She said: "The nightmare we had with the roundabout works was bad enough but this latest lot seems to be even worse.

"I decided eventually to abandon the car and walk!"

The new traffic lights have reduced the carriageway down to one lane on the Wilpshire side of Brownhill roundabout but the delays at peak times have caused traffic jams to stretch back along all roads leading to the bottleneck.

Mrs McLean added: "Cars stretched as far as the eye could see and it was obvious drivers were not too happy.

"The agencies know that works such as this are going to cause huge headaches for people trying to get to work and so on and I cannot see why they cannot open other routes to ease the problems.

"In the past certain side roads have been used as rat-runs and the council has used one-way systems and road signs to put a stop to that.

"But why can't they reverse those decisions temporarily so that people can actually get across the roundabout one way or another?" The work involves replacement of main sewers along the road between the roundabout and Parsonage Road.

The programme of works was brought forward so that the first phase could be completed while the roundabout itself was undergoing a massive reconstruction.

Now the essential completion of the project is under way, causing more problems for residents, local businesses and road users.

A spokesman from North West Water said: "The scheme has been designed to minimise the impact on everyone involved, including through traffic,

"However, it is impossible to carry out major works such as these without some disruption.

"We have given prior warning to as many people and businesses as possible and we have maintained at least some traffic flow."

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