THEY may be a minor inconvenience or a major headache – but they always prompt comment.
Now the true extent and impact of Britain’s many miles of roadworks is revealed today by roadside recovery firm Britannia Rescue.
The company, which has offices at Folly Hall Mills in Huddersfield, said the average driver clocks up almost 240 miles a year trying to avoid roadworks or following diversions – adding an extra 43 minutes to their driving time on average every week.
And in Kirklees they revealed there were 239 sets of roadworks under way at any one time.
A Freedom of Information request made by Britannia Rescue to local authority highways departments across the UK reveals there are 19,000 roadworks currently under way in the UK and that they stretch 1,434 miles – the length of Land’s End to John O’Groats and back again.
In Kirklees, there are 239 roadwork projects of varying sizes ongoing – 26 of them for the local council and 213 for utilities such as water, gas, electricity and telecoms.
That compares with just nine schemes of all sizes across Calderdale.
The A62 Leeds Road emerged as the route where the most roadworks took place in Kirklees over the past five years – with 361 separate works, all of which have been completed.
A survey of drivers across the UK by Britannia Rescue showed that 24% were forced to change their route to avoid road works.
Despite the number of roadworks, 22% of drivers polled believe that highway repairs actually make the quality of the roads worse – while 61% think the quality of Britain’s roads in general is declining.
Only 5% of drivers rate the condition of their local roads as “very good”.
FOI data revealed that more than 2m roadworks projects were started in the past five years.
Councils with some of the most ambitious road maintenance projects for the year include Essex County Council, which has 6,000 road works currently underway, the City of Westminster and East Riding of Yorkshire, which both have 2,066 outstanding projects, and Doncaster council which has 1,815.
The survey showed that drivers feel frustrated that they often have no warning that local road works will be taking place in their area.
A quarter of drivers say they have been caught up in roadworks where there was no advance notice of the work taking place.
Peter Horton, managing director of Britannia Rescue, said drivers caught up in tailbacks due to roadworks should take care of their vehicles instead of simply sitting there quietly fuming.
He said: “With more cars on the road than ever, it is extremely difficult for the authorities to maintain the quality of our roads without impacting drivers.
“Sitting in traffic with the engine running for long periods of time can cause engine overheating and damage a car.
“To reduce the impact on your car, make sure it is regularly serviced and that you keep your oil and water topped up and if you are being held in traffic for more than a minute, switch the engine off.”
Britannia Rescue issued FOI requests to 434 UK local authorities, of which 81 responded.
The FOI request asked local authorities how many outstanding road works there currently are in the area, how long they have been outstanding for and how many miles they would stretch. The impact roadworks can have on motorists and businesses was amply demonstrated in Milnsbridge last year.
A 14-week programme of work to strengthen the bridge in Market Street caused long traffic hold-ups and angered traders who claimed that customers were staying away due to delays caused on a controversial one-way system.
More than 1,000 people signed a petition against the way the roadworks were being handled after the one-way system was introduced. Traffic from the Golcar side of the village had to take a lengthy diversion via Paddock and Longroyd Bridge..
The diversion added 20 minutes to journey times for pupils travelling from Golcar to Colne Valley High School at Linthwaite.
One resident told how the one-way system meant she could drive a few hundred yards over the bridge from her home at Lockridge Way to the Aldi store at Scar Lane – but had to take a three-mile detour to get back home.
Other routes affected by major roadworks in Kirklees in the past 12 months included Chapel Hill; Penistone Road and Wakefield road in Waterloo and Dalton; Woodhead Road, Lockwood; Leeds Road, Mirfield; Luck Lane, Marsh and Paddock; Halifax Road, Birchencliffe; Market Street and High Street, Heckmondwike.
HIGHWAYS workers are set to start three sets of roadworks on main roads within days.
Three roads are due to be repaired by Kirklees Council as part of a programme of work being carried out in the south of the district.
March 11 will see the start of three days of work on Penistone Road, at Shelley.
Sunday, March 10, and Sunday, March 17, will see carriageway resurfacing at Huddersfield Road, in New Mill.
And Abbey Road, Shepley will be resurfaced over two days starting on March 14.
All work will be weather permitting.
