Major roadworks should be finished by Christmas

Roadworks that have led to complaints of "traffic chaos" are set to be finished by Christmas, a councillor has said.

The upgrading of three roads in Grantham, Lincolnshire, has prompted complaints about gridlock and disruption.

County councillor Richard Davies said the £3m projects on Station Approach and Dysart Road had passed the halfway mark and would be completed in December.

In August, a special meeting of Grantham town council called for a pause, or staggering, of the Dysart Road works claiming it had been “badly planned”.

Speaking at the time, chairman of the town council Tim Harrison, who also runs a taxi firm, said his drivers had seen a "45% drop in their weekly earnings".

"It's crippling the town, it's crippling businesses. It's financially hitting everybody very hard," Mr Harrison said.

In response, Mr Davies said that Dysart Road was in urgent need of repair, adding: "It doesn't make sense to postpone it or delay it."

Now, the councillor said the project was "still on track to be finished ahead of Christmas this year".

“We just need the weather to cooperate with us as we head into autumn and winter, so it stays as dry as possible," he said.

"We've had a fair bit of heavy rain over the past couple weeks which, luckily, hasn't delayed either project, but as we get closer to the end of both schemes, we'll need dry weather so we can lay the final layer of tarmac – which can’t be laid when it’s wet.

“I want to thank everyone for their continued patience while both sets of work are being carried out. We’ll continue doing all we can to keep disruption to a minimum.”

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