Roadworks in and around Salford have left locals “extremely frustrated”.
The roadworks on the A560 Trafford Road have been taking place since March 2021 as part of a £20 million improvement scheme. The work has now also been extended along The Quays and Ordsall Lane.
The intention is to provide access to MediaCityUK, Salford Quays, Ordsall and optimise traffic signals for turning traffic, pedestrians and cyclists.
Although the roadworks are being created to benefit the Salford community they have inconvenienced many including students, residents and business owners.
Businessman Mohammad Asghar who services Asian grocery stores from a Salford warehouse, is one of many who has been severely inconvenienced.
Mr Asghar said: “It is extremely frustrating because we have to leave home early to get to the warehouse and even then we’re late because of the traffic.
“Our business has been badly affected due to the roadworks because we are in the delivery business, and we have to be with our customers on time but due to the queues caused by the roadworks we are now often late.
“It has also affected our costs because we are on the roads longer meaning our diesel is being used unnecessarily causing extra expenses to our business.”
Residents are also in distress. Bee Jay went to Twitter to express his frustration and asked Salford Council: “When will we see the end of the nightmare going on at Trafford Road?
@SalfordCouncil When will we see the end of the nightmare going on on Trafford Rd. Crawled all the way along the Road to find out I couldn’t turn onto Ordsall Ln.? The Quays junction has been blocked for months now. Do you understand people need to get to there place of work ?
— Beejay (@Brijama1) November 11, 2021
A student who attends one of the local schools near the roadworks said:
“The footpath is non-existent, there’s no where I can walk safely to get to school.
“On top of that trams, pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists are all forced to use the same road so it can get very dangerous.
“I even got splashed by a driver on the way to school because I had no where else to walk.”
Mr Asghar also mentioned: “There is no alternate route around the area which we could take and if there is the traffic is just as bad.
“The best thing the Salford council can do is finish this work as soon as possible so we can return back to normality.”
Salford City council expects the roadworks to be completed by summer 2022.
Many locals are not convinced as extension times on these roadworks have previously been added.
Mr Ashgar said: “Summer 2022 is still a long way to go that’s another seven, eight months which is a real pain.
“They are only predicting so it might be even later as we’ve seen before in other areas with roadworks.”
For more updates about the roadworks on the A560 visit the Salford City Council website.