PREPARE FOR CHAOS

Motorists face daily traffic chaos since the Eastgate underpass, leading to St Alkmund's Way, closed for drainage and resurfacing work. Morning and evening commuters face lengthy delays on most routes into the city. Motorists were diverted officially around the Cockpit and but many tried to find quicker by using Meadow Road, which in turn also caused tailbacks.

Other roads where traffic was heavily congested included Stores Road, Derwent Street, Friar Gate and the A52 around the Pentagon, leading to many people arriving late for work. Despite complaints from motorists, Nigel Brian, Derby City Council's city centre traffic manager, said that things had gone well.

He said, "The first day of the closure has gone quite well when you consider that a major road was shut. One or two areas experienced queues, but people will get used to using different routes. Drivers may change the time they travel while the road is closed, going to work either earlier or later, and that will reduce traffic too."

Motorists have been going to extreme measures to avoid traffic problems in the city centre. Some motorists ignored road closures signs to find the quickest route. Drivers reported a man in a white van pull up near to the slip road from Derwent Street and St Alkmund's Way, which is currently closed, and move the cones. Witnesses said he then drove up the slip road followed by others.

Nigel Brian said he was not aware of the incident, but that the driver may have been a delivery worker. He said, "He could have been making a delivery or he could have been an impatient driver. It could have been a very dangerous thing to do." Others reported seeing people on Full Street driving in both directions, despite it being one-way.

Mr Brian said that overall traffic problems decreased during the day with the only heavy congestion around the Cockpit. He added that the timing of the traffic lights around the Cockpit had been altered to improve traffic flow while the underpass was closed. Traffic problems were worsened in Derwent Street as the council altered cycle path markings. A Derby City Council spokeswoman said new white road markings had to be drawn because the bus stop had been made larger. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Aug/06)

Motorists can expect up to three years of chaos in Derby city centre as a major £10.9m road maintenance scheme gets under way. The maintenance programme, funded by money from the Government's Local Transport Plan, will cover the section of the inner ring road, from the Pentagon island to where it goes beneath King Street, and from the Cockpit island over Holmes Bridge. The main part of the scheme is to build a new pumping station for the East Gate underpass, which has flooded several times in the past few years due to heavy rainfall.

The work will coincide with several other major road schemes in the city centre. Junction changes around the Cockpit are due because of the bus station redevelopment and Traffic Street is to be widened as part of the Eagle Centre extension. The completion of Derby's inner ring road between Bradshaw Way and Ford Street and the building of a two-lane link road between St Helen's Street and Lodge Lane could also begin soon. Ian Copeland, council project manager for the scheme, said, "We are hoping to keep disruption to an absolute minimum but we won't stop it all."

Many of the improvements are necessary because sections of the road are literally falling apart, according to the council. In addition to the pumping station, work includes the replacement of the St Alkmund's Way footbridge to St Mary's Church, the refurbishment of six bridge "decks" and six of the structures that hold direction signs over St Alkmund's Way. The road will also be resurfaced with a quieter and safer material.

Traders in Nottingham, Meadowhall and Burton look set for bumper Christmas takings this year as it becomes easier to get to these places than it is to get into Derby city centre. From November, roadworks in Ashbourne Road (it's not long ago that drains were replaced between Markeaton Island and Uttoxeter Old Road) and Raynesway will join those around the Cockpit and Pentagon roundabouts and the ones on Duffield Road. If you do manage to get into the city centre, you'll then have to deal with the extra congestion around the temporary bus station in order to find somewhere to park.

The stretch of Ashbourne Road, between Uttoxeter Old Road and Merchant Street, is being reduced to one lane in order to upgrade sewers. The road works are one mile away from those on St Alkmund's Way, where traffic is reduced to one lane while workers carry out a repair and maintenance project. The work on Ashbourne Road is part of a larger scheme to upgrade sewers in the city which also caused Duffield Road to close.

Motorists currently effected by roadworks in the city centre can expect congestion problems to get much worse in the new year. Work to modify the roundabout in Osmaston Road, linking it to Bradshaw Way, will be carried out and traffic lights added, there will be a contraflow in Bradshaw Way, with one lane closed in each direction and alterations will then be made to Traffic Street and the Cockpit island which will convert it into a traffic junction. Council marketing manager Sam Whitworth said, It will be carnage."