3:00am Thursday 4th February 2010
By Sophie Edwards
ROADWORKS caused major jams in Billericay after Essex County Council decided to repair the two main roads into the town at the same time.
Drivers faced long tailbacks after highways teams partially blocked the routes as they carried out work on the kerbs.
Motorist David Clark, who was caught in the congestion, is furious with the county council for its “stupid” decision to repair kerbs on both Noak Hill Road and Barleylands Road, which connect Basildon with Billericay.
He said cars were backed up for a long time as a result of the work, which involved putting in temporary traffic lights on Noak Hill Road, the A176, reducing stretches down to a single lane.
Any traffic which tried to avoid the queues by going along Barleylands Road instead, faced similar problems as highways workers replaced kerbs there too.
David, 65, of Billericay, said: “What if the any of the emergency services had needed to get to Billericay? They wouldn’t have been able to get through.
“I find it absolutely stupid the council arranged for the works to be carried out at the same time.
“I know its got to be done, but you don’t block off the two main roads which access Billericay.”
Nicola Spicer, spokeswoman for Essex County Council, blamed bad weather for the unfortunate timing. She said: “Essex County Council were due to finish kerb replacement works in Barleylands Road, Billericay, earlier in the month.
“However, due to the recent bad weather, these works took longer than expected, which meant they took place at the same time as planned kerb replacement works on Noak Hill Road. These works have now been completed.”
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