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Snarl-up begins on A1 as major roadworks begin

Jul 26 2009 by Sam Wood, Sunday Sun

Traffic moved freely in both directions at around 40mph but as the minutes ticked by, and the amount of vehicles increased, speeds slowed.

And midweek it is likely to be a different story when the road is choked with commuter traffic and haulage vehicles.

The contraflow system, which was put in place yesterday, is likely to cause massive delays, particularly on the uphill southbound stretch.

The Highways Agency is warning people to brace themselves for massive congestion, to leave their cars at home and use public transport to reduce delays.

The agency is warning the next three weeks will be the worst for motorists while the main work is carried out.

Overnight work will then continue for a further six weeks to allow work on difficult to access areas of the bridge to be completed.

These works will be carried out at night between 8pm and 6am when traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction. During the day, two narrow lanes will operate in each direction until the end of September.

Last week Mark Robinson, Metro Radio’s Captain Marky Mark, warned travellers it would be near impossible to avoid the mayhem.

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