RESIDENTS have been left furious after CityFibre works caused their usual “ten-minute” journeys to take close to an hour-and-a-half in Rochford.

CityFibre has started works to carry out the multi-million pound works in Rochford.

As a result of the start of the works, Sutton Road will be closed for around two weeks.

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On Monday morning, Southend and Rochford was left gridlocked surrounding the A127 due to the impact of the works.

Resident Ret Halls, 41, expressed her frustrations.

She said: “My daily commute to work has gone from a ten-minute journey to an hour and 20 minutes.

“The road was gridlocked in every direction.

“It made me late for work this morning.”

She added: “I am already trying and find an alternative route to work with Sutton Road shut.

“Tomorrow, and the rest of the week, I will have to leave earlier too. It is so frustrating.

“These works could have been done after rush hour or overnight, as it is a nightmare.”

Another resident, who asked not to be named, added: “I left Little Wakering at 8am to get to Sainsbury’s Rayleigh Weir for work.

“The traffic was gridlocked, and it took me till 9am just to get the roundabout behind the airport.

“Luckily, I phoned worked and they could cover me, and so I was told to go home.

“Two-and-a-half hours later I managed to get home.

“The roads are back enough let alone with these works, it should have been planned a lot better.

“I feel for everyone yesterday morning, it really was horrendous.”

This is just the first part of the CityFibre works, which will move across different parts of the district over the next year.

A third motorist, Craig Stacey, added: “I had my pregnant wife and my three-year-old in the car with me.

“It caused my three-year-old a lot of stress. It took an hour-and-a-half to get from Rochford to Shoebury.

“It would have been quicker to walk.”

In response, Jean Gowin, CityFibre’s area manager for Rochford and Rayleigh, said: “We want to reassure residents that we’re committed to managing any disruption as best we can and will complete these essential infrastructure works as quickly as possible.

“As with any major infrastructure programme, we are required to enforce road closures on occasion to ensure we adhere to health and safety protocols as we deliver our £25m full fibre roll out in Rochford and Rayleigh.

“We are working closely with Rochford District Council and Essex Highways to ensure diversion routes are in place, and our team will always be happy to move barriers for resident access when asked and if it’s safe to do so.

“We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused and can confirm that these particular works on Sutton Road are on track for completion in mid-February, and access to Purdy’s Industrial Estate will be maintained at all times.”