TOWN councillors are pushing for cash to ease congestion on Canvey’s roads.

The £18.5million Roscommon Way extension, linking Northwick Road to Haven Road was officially opened in December 2011, promising to bring more jobs to the island and fewer traffic jams.

It was the first phase in a twopronged road scheme to extend Roscommon Way all the way to Western Esplanade, providing a third main road across the island.

Now, Canvey Town Council is writing to Castle Point Council chief executive David Marchant and county highways director Paul Bird, urging them to push ahead with the second phase.

County councillor Ray Howard, who is also a town and borough councillor, said: “We can’t carry on with this congestion.

“It’s a joke and people are fed up with it. You get to Waterside Farm and it is gridlocked and when you get to Holland Avenue there is queuing along there.

“We have got to get this last phase of Roscommon Way finished.

It is all right saying we need it, but we have to get funding, so I’ve asked the town council clerk to write to these people to see if we can get some financial backing.”

The town council will also be asking Castle Point MP Rebecca Harris to raise the matter in Whitehall.

Town council chairman Doreen Anderson said: “Everyone complains bitterly about the traffic.

“They have been talking about this final phase for ages, we could’ve built it six times over in that time. We have to do something, because the amount of traffic is unbelievable.

“It’s bad enough if you have to commute an hour to work, but then to get on the island and sit in queues is awful.”

Fellow town councillor Joan Liddiard said extending the road would help ease traffic all day, not just during the rush hour.

She added: “I think we really do need to hurry up with this.

“All the people in the point area of the island will be able to use the new extension, meaning they wouldn’t have to go along Long Road.

“It will help split up traffic on and off the island, so I think its a really good idea. The council just needs to get on with it.”

Castle Point Council leader Pam Challis, also wants to see the road build.

She said: “The final phase of Roscommon Way is a priority to improve access on Canvey.

“The council will lobby the Local Enterprise Partnership to release additional funding and will also look for alternative funding sources such as the Community Infrastructure Levy to fund the scheme at the earliest opportunity.”

No one at County Hall was able to comment on the council’s call.