People 'shopping elsewhere' due to long roadworks
BBCResidents of a Gloucestershire town say their are avoiding the nearest city because of current roadworks which may take nine months to complete.
The A40 bridge that links the Forest of Dean with Gloucester is having work completed underneath it which has led to the dual carriageway becoming one lane in both directions temporarily.
Michael Clack, who lives in Newent, said he chooses to avoid the roadworks, taking an alternative route through Hartpury or shopping in other counties.
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Highways said: "We appreciate delays can be frustrating, and we have planned these works to balance carrying out the works safely and minimising delays as much as possible."
Clack said: "If that road closes when it floods, I'll just go to Ledbury, Worcester or Hereford. We used to go to Tesco, the big superstore, but we go to Ledbury now."
He is not the only resident whose routine has changed. While shopping may be an optional outing, many residents need to go to Gloucester for hospital appointments.
Keith and Diane Williams access Gloucester by bus, but said the lack of a bus lane now has added 20-25 minutes to their journey.
Mr Williams said: "Sometimes we've had an appointments either at the hospital or we've had to catch a coach connection and we've had to get a bus an hour earlier than we would normally normally use, so it's affected us quite a bit in that way."
Mrs Williams added: "We used to like going to the Gloucester Docks, but we thought, no - not for now."
But others are saying the traffic is better due to a recently added contraflow system, at least for cars.
Ruth Wadley said: "We tend to travel not during the rush hour. We've been into Gloucester two or three times very recently and it's not really slowed us down at all."
She added: "Once you've done it once or twice and coped with which way you've got to go, then it's okay. It's not really adding on that much time to do anything."
Gloucestershire Highways added: "Since the introduction of the contraflow system, traffic flow has generally improved - particularly as road users have become more familiar with the new layout - and we'll continue to monitor conditions closely and look for opportunities to make further improvements wherever practical.
"In the meantime we advise drivers to plan ahead, particularly during peak travel hours, and thank people for their continued patience and understanding while these essential works are carried out."
A spokesperson for the Gloucester Business Improvement District said that overall the impact on companies in the city had been "moderate".
"Staff commuting is clearly being affected, with limited direct customer complaints so far, but there are growing concerns that worsening congestion, particularly at Christmas, could deter visitors to the city," district manager Emily Gibbon said.
However, she said the city had benefitted from a strong summer of events so far, which had attracted "great audiences and visitor numbers".
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