Anger as Telford drivers caught up in further delays at Shawbirch roundabout roadworks

Temporary four-way traffic lights were put in place yesterday at Shawbirch Roundabout, causing huge queues and outrage from drivers.

The lights will remain there until December 23 for road reconstruction works but motorists have already been venting their anger online, accusing the council of "poor planning".

It is one of six sites in the borough that had been earmarked for an upgrade, with £13.9 million of backing from the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership.

Work at other sites, including Limekiln Bank roundabout in Priorslee, which began earlier this year, has also caused major delays for motorists.

The latest uproar comes as it has been announced that Severn Trent Water has now completed work to divert its services at Limekiln Bank roundabout, meaning the council's work can continue.

Telford & Wrekin Council had blamed Severn Trent Water for holding up the scheme, which should have been finished in July.

The firm vowed to do "everything humanly possible" to complete its work by early December.

Overnight surfacing works are now planned fromThursday until December 23, which will mean closing Limekiln Bank roundabout between 8pm and 6am.

Telford & Wrekin Council has warned that residents could face noise disruption, but the authority says closing the roundabout during the day would cause severe traffic disruption.

Motorists had been warned of "unavoidable delays" during the work at Shawbirch Roundabout and delays of 30 minutes were reported yesterday morning.

Many drivers vented their frustration on Facebook.

Liam Edwards? sent a message to Telford & Wrekin Council, which read: "Shawbirch roundabout...45mins for 2.4miles journey to school.

"Couldn't the four way lights have waited a week when the children break for half-term. Poor planning!"

Dozens of comments concerning the roadworks were also posted on the council's Facebook page.

Yesterday, Tasha Kimberley Smith posted: "My 9 mile journey to work just took nearly an hour to complete.

"This roundabout is an absolute shambles. There was nothing wrong with the way it was."

Lauren Emily also wrote: "It took me 20 minutes this morning to get through that island before 8am. This is getting absolutely ridiculous.

"Whether I take the back roads to Shrewsbury from Donnington or the motorway there are roadworks on nearly every island. This is getting stupid!!"

Neill Millington attempted to warn other motorists about the queues yesterday morning on Twitter, saying to avoid the Shawbirch roundabout "like the plague" due to traffic queues.

Meanwhile, St Peter's Primary School in Bratton warned parents via Twitter to leave extra time for picking up and dropping off their children due to the roadworks.

Telford & Wrekin Council said the road reconstruction works were taking place in the build-up to Christmas to avoid clashing with work on Ketley Brook roundabout, which starts on January 3.

Council spokesman Russell Griffin said the work was taking place in advance of the final surfacing for Shawbirch Roundabout in January and thanked road users for their patience and co-operation.

Mr Griffin said: "All the junction improvements currently under way are essential to the borough's future growth and without the work future commercial and residential developments would not be able to take place.

"The work is being funded by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership and contributions by developers. However, this funding is only available until March 2017 which is why we have to carry out the work now.

"During the planning stages of the projects in 2015 we had a deliverable programme of works which meant that only two major junctions on separate traffic routes would be worked on at the same time. However the failure of Severn Trent Water to divert their water mains has delayed some of the projects meaning we have no option but to work on several junctions at the same time as failure to complete the projects by March next year would jeopardise the funding available."

Other sites included in the programme of road improvements around the borough included Trench Lock roundabout, the Clock Tower roundabout in Donnington, and Randlay Interchange.