Revamp of Shrewsbury's A5 roundabouts will cost £8.4m

Work on the Preston Boats and Emstrey islands on the A5 starts on Monday and is due to be completed by December.

But motorists have condemned the scheme as a waste of money.

Highways Agency bosses claim the plans will improve the layout of both islands, with traffic lights being installed on the Preston Boats roundabout to ease congestion, especially at peak times.

The project is part of the Government's pinch point programme which was announced in the Chancellor's Autumn statement in November 2011. George Osborne says the work forms part of an initiative to help business by reducing congestion.

• Star comment: Roadwork misery is on the way

Lanes will be closed overnight and speed limits imposed during the works to ensure the safety of road workers and diversions will be in place which will be clearly signed.

Shrewsbury town councillor Alan Moseley, who represents the Castlefields and Ditherington ward, today said he feared the scheme would cause problems for traders, visitors to Shrewsbury, and the town's economy.

"On a personal level, I have never experienced difficulties at these roundabouts," he said. "Why, if this work was in the pipeline, was remedial work carried out only recently at the two roundabouts, to improve visibility? It just doesn't make sense.

"This summer will be a very frustrating time for motorists moving around in to Shrewsbury. This is a busy time of the year, so may people use the A5 to get to the Welsh coast so this will not be good for people's perceptions of the area. These roadworks are not good news for visitors or for tourists or for those people just trying to get about."

Shrewsbury deputy mayor Miles Kenny said: "We are very fortunate to have very little congestion and it is not as bad as elsewhere and I do not see the point of these redevelopments. Where we do need the roundabout sorting out is at Heathgates as it does have terrible problems."

Drivers are being urged to steer clear of the key route as contractors begin the roadworks.

Highways Agency bosses, who will be co-ordinating the roadworks, are advising drivers to avoid the area - where work will be carried out overnight - and follow diversions.

• Vote in today's poll: Are traffic lights on roundabouts ever a good idea?

Lanes will be closed and speed reductions imposed to ensure the safety of workers.

Highways Agency project manager, Jess Kenny said: "These are two very busy islands and these improvements will really make a difference to drivers' journeys, easing congestion especially at peak times, which can only help the local economy.

"To minimise disruption, we will carry out the majority of the work with lane closures at night, but some full closures will also be needed between the hours of 7pm and 7am.

"I advise people to leave longer for their journeys as diversions will be necessary at times and reduced speed limits will be in place to protect workers and the public."

Preston Boats island will be totally redesigned, replacing the current roundabout with a junction and traffic lights. Emstrey Island will see several approaches widened along with widening of the island itself to provide three lanes with traffic lights.

The work is scheduled to finish in December and is part of a £3.8 million improvement scheme.

It forms part of the UK Government's growth initiative, outlined during the Chancellor's Autumn Statement in November 2011.

Councillor Claire Wild, cabinet member for highways, described the works as "really good news" for Shropshire.

She said: "Although there is likely to be some inconvenience while the Highways Agency undertakes the work, we hope the changes will help to reduce congestion on the Shrewsbury bypass in future."

But the plans have not gone down well with motorists who use the route.

The Shropshire Star website was inundated with comments.

Edski675 wrote: "Please will someone tell me I'm dreaming. Am I really reading that southbound traffic on the A49 that wants to go east on the A5 will have to go through Harlescott, Telford Way, Meole Brace Island, and onto the A5 at Dobbies Island??? That road is already a nightmare. This is lunacy. You couldn't make it up.

"I will turn left onto the B5062 Newport road, then right after the double bend, through Uffington, past Attingham Park, joining the old A5 at Atcham and onto the M54 at J7.

Traffic lights is a crazy idea here, they will not improve traffic flows, there are more important things to spend the money on. Not for the first time, our money is being wasted."

PJS said: "Couldn't agree more with those who question the wisdom of traffic lights. A roundabout allows for continuous flow of traffic - traffic lights, inevitably, ensure that for some of the time at least, all of the traffic is stopped. It's really not a complicated roundabout - you have only two exits to choose from! Putting traffic lights in instead of a roundabout will guarantee longer, not shorter, tailbacks."

For more information about the scheme and details of traffic management throughout the project, visit www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/a5-preston-boats-junction-improvement/ and www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/a5-emstrey-roundabout-improvement or call the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000.

Diversion routes for drivers during closures:

There will be a number of road closures in the next few months during the work to replace the Preston Boats roundabout with traffic lights.

Here are the main diversion routes.

A5 westbound/M54 junction 7 mainline closure – when the A5 westbound mainline carriageway is closed motorists wanting to access Preston Island will have to exit at Junction 7 of the M54 and follow the gold triangle symbol of the EDR route onto the B5061 towards Atcham. At Atcham the B5061 turns into the B4308. They will remain on the B4308 until it joins the A5 at Emstrey Island.

Once at the Island drivers can head north onto the A5 which will lead them to the A49 or south onto the A5.

A5 eastbound mainline closure – when closed drivers wanting to access the road from the A5 north and A49 south will have to exit the A5 at Emstrey island and follow the gold circle symbol of the EDR route onto the B4380 and follow the road. At Atcham the B4308 turns into the B5061. They will remain on the B5061 until it signs them to the M54.

A5 northbound mainline closure – when the A5 northbound carriageway is closed drivers from the A5064, B4380 and A5 will have to head south on the A5 and exit onto the A5112 and follow the road until it joins the A49. Once on the A49 drivers can head south and join the A5.

Drivers wanting to acces the A49 will have to exit the A5 onto the A5112 and follow the road until it rejoins the A49.

A5 southbound mainline closure – when the A5 southbound mainline carriageway is closed drivers wanting to access the road from the A5 westbound approach of Preston Island will have to exit at junction 7 of the M54 and follow the gold triangle symbol of the EDR route onto the B5061 towards Atcham. At Atcham the B5061 turns into the B4308. They will remain on the B4308 until it joins the A5 at Emstrey Island.

Drivers wanting to access the A5 from the A49 southbound carriageway will have to exit the onto the A5112 and follow the road until it rejoins the A5.

A5 Preston Island circulatory closure – when the circulatory carriageway is closed a combination of the above diversion routes will be in use.

A diversion route will be required when work is carried out on the A49.

Drivers wanting to access the A5 from the southbound approach of the A49 will have to exit the A49 onto the A5112 and follow it until it joins the A5. Once back on the A5 they can head east and back to Preston Island. Drivers wanting to access the northbound carriageway of the A49 from Preston Island will head south on the A5 and exit the A5 onto the A5112 and follow the road until it joins the A49.