Shrewsbury roundabout works in top 10 of UK blackspots
Shrewsbury's Emstrey and Preston Boats islands have been named in Britain's top 10 worst congestion blackspots caused by roadworks.
The £4.6 million improvement work being carried out by the Highways Agency at the two islands has caused delays of up to 30 minutes for motorists during rush hour – statistics which have seen the scheme named at number eight in a blackspot list compiled by traffic information provider Inrix.
The work to remodel the two islands started in June and is not expected to finish until December.
The town islands' blackspot listing comes as the Highways Agency revealed further overnight closures on the stretch of the A5 between the two islands this week and also at Mile End near Oswestry, where further roadworks are being carried out.
The eastbound carriageway from Emstrey island will be shut between 8pm and 6.15am from tonight until November 30, and the westbound carriageway will be closed at Preston Boats overnight from tonight until Saturday.
At Mile End the A5 will be closed overnight from tonight until Christmas Eve between 7pm and 6am.
The M54 will also be closed between junction two for Wolverhampton and junction three for Cosford on Thursday from 8pm until 6am the following day.
According to the Inrix survey, more roadworks are being carried out on Britain's clogged roads than at any time in the past decade.
The worst roadworks-related accident blackspot in Britain is Tollbar Island at the junction of the A46 and A45 near Coventry, where a new underpass is being built. The junction is known locally as Kamikaze Island.
In Britain there have been on average 7,692 roadworks projects large enough to cause congestion getting under way each month this year, said Inrix.
In 2005, the average was 2,669.
The Highways Agency is working on 13 big motorway and A road schemes and 34 projects to reduce bottlenecks.
Work will begin on another 46 "pinch point" schemes in coming months as part of a Government commitment to spend another £24 billion on roads between 2010 and 2021.
Councils are dipping into a £168 million "pothole" fund announced by the Government, which must be spent by March.
"Our data clearly shows that so far in 2014 roadworks across the UK are at an all-time high," said Matt Simmons, European director at Inrix.
