Locals say a 10-year roadworks project that has cost over £440k is a "ridiculous embarrassment" to a small town in Essex.
Roadworks have become an increasingly common phenomenon across the UK, rising by 40% between 2019 and 2023, but at least the majority of projects soon pack up and clear off, leaving an improved road surface in their wake.
That hasn't been the case for the community of Witham, a small town in the heart of Essex, however, who have been forced to contend with traffic lights and building materials near one of its busiest roads since 2015.
Hatfield Road near the A12 has had the dubious honour of being named National Highways' longest-running roadworks scheme and still hasn't been completed, despite over half a million pounds already being shelled out on traffic management. National Highways told the BBC that the decade-long lane closure was due to safety concerns around the ability of adjoining Woodend Bridge to "support the weight of traffic".
Plans to install a replacement bridge could be carried out before next year, reports suggest, and would cost around £1.6 million.
Some have taken an ironic approach to the long-running project by ranking it as the town's top attraction on TripAdvisor. "My kids love this part of their morning journey," one local wrote on the review platform. "Long unnecessary red light waits give them a perfect opportunity for a bit of bird spotting ... Remember your binoculars and a pack lunch."
"For followers of Zen, you [can] sit in tranquility, reflecting on your life as you wait in the endless queues," another joked. "You can watch the traffic zooming by on the A12, knowing that soon, you will be able to join them."
"Lovers of haute cuisine [can also] explore the delights of the garage shop just before the bridge," they added. "They have a wonderful collection of day-old sandwiches and warm pies."
For most residents, however, the spectacle has become an embarrassment, especially since a Freedom of Information request by the BBC uncovered that £473,196 had been spent on contraflow measures since 2019 alone.
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