Roadworks causing frustration for motorists
Frustration...motorists using Harborough's roads have gotten used to seeing signs like this
FRUSTRATED motorists are directing their anger at highways bosses as roadworks around Harborough cause chaos.
Temporary traffic lights at gas main replacement works in the centre of Kibworth have been causing long tailbacks for motorists travelling on the A6.
While drivers coming into town from the direction of East Farndon or Lutterworth have found themselves waiting in long queues at four-way traffic lights on the Farndon Road/Welland Park Road junction.
To make matters worse, work was also taking place last week outside the BP Garage in Coventry Road, causing tailbacks all the way to the Commons car park.
And there will also be roadworks along Great Bowden Road for the next nine weeks for gas mains renewal works.
Motorists and residents have been contacting the Mail this week to vent their frustrations.
What do you think? Have you been caught up in the tailbacks? Have your say by logging in or registering to make comments on this website.
Mary Plowright, of Charles Street, said: “What on earth is going wrong in Market Harborough? Are our service providers and highways department so badly managed we have to have what seems like permanent holes being dug, left for weeks even months and then filled in again?
“I can only imagine the hours wasted waiting at lights, the 100s of gallons of wasted fuel, the 1000s of frustrated drivers and the £100,000 lost to our hard working traders due to people going elsewhere. If I lived outside of Harborough I would never come here to shop.”
In Kibworth, two-way traffic lights at works expected to continue until mid-June have created long queues, which in some cases have caused students to arrive late for GCSE exams at Harborough’s Robert Smyth School.
Peter Morley, of Elliot Close in Kibworth, questioned why the work had not been carried out during school sumer holidays.
In a letter to the Mail, he added: “Whilst we all accept that roadworks are neccessary to continually update our utility infrastructure, I cannot believe the unsympathetc planning towards gas main replacement on the A6 at Kibworth.
“Kibworth has already become a serious bottleneck and is not getting any better!”
Leicestershire County Council said work at Farndon Road was being carried out to improve pedestrian crossing and install sewers for the new Farndon Road housing development - at the cost of the developer.
A spokesman said: “As the majority of this work has taken place on the existing road network and covers several major junctions with a site length that is in excess of 1.5km, the contractor has been limited to only working on one section of the site at a time.
“This is to minimise disruption to the road users as well as work round existing utility services.
“We would like to thank motorists for their patience.”
At Kibworth, a site meeting between the council, National Grid and their contractor had been held, said County Hall.
The spokesman said a number of options including the manual control of temporary traffic signals at peak times and the removal of lights as soon as they are not required had been discussed.
“We will be conducting regular site visits to see how work is progressing,” they added.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Market Harborough
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 29 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North
