An end may be in sight for a major road junction upgrade at Ketley which has caused huge traffic delays and led local business owners to complain of its crippling effects upon trade.
An end may be in sight for a major road junction upgrade at Ketley which has caused huge traffic delays and led local business owners to complain of its crippling effects upon trade.
The scheme is at the Elephant & Castle crossroads, where Waterloo Road crosses the “old A5″ Holyhead Road. It will introduce a new right turn lane for vehicles approaching the junction from the direction of Hadley Learning Community and wanting to turn right.
Previously, there were long queues of traffic backing up towards HLC as vehicles turning right had to wait for a gap, stalling those following.
With work going ahead on major housing schemes in the area, the situation was likely to worsen.
The improvement scheme, however, with associated roadworks traffic lights, has led to huge traffic jams. For two weekends as well, the entire junction was closed and vehicles diverted.
Elephant & Castle pub landlord Damien Rawlinson, 22, said all his work in boosting trade since taking control last August has been undone after his turnover was slashed by 90 per cent.
“When I came into this pub it was turning over £1,000 a week but I managed to get it up to a steady £5,000,” he said.
“Since the roadworks started it has been as low as £500 weekly especially when they put steel fencing up around the front of the pub. It made it look condemned.”
He added that Telford & Wrekin Council had refused to consider a temporary cut in his business rates while the work continues.
The enraged business owners are also demanding to know why roadworks on their doorstep are taking so long to complete.
The owner of Ketley Cod fish and chip shop, Steve Loizou, said the roadworks were taking too long and had left trade floundering as weekly turnover slumped to £3,000 from £5,500 before the work began.
“My car park took four hours to resurface when I opened this place,” he said.
“But it’s taking far longer to resurface an area that isn’t much bigger. If this goes on for much longer then without the bank’s support we could go under. I feel the council or the developer has a moral obligation to compensate us as passing trade is avoiding the area.”
The work has been allowed by Telford & Wrekin Council and is linked to the English Partnerships backed Telford Millennium Community housing development elsewhere in Ketley.
A Telford & Wrekin Council spokesman said: “Access to both businesses has been maintained for the majority of the time the works have been on and Blackwell has contacted the owners to inform them of any alterations to the traffic management in the area.
“The scheme is part of an agreement with the developer of the TMC site to improve capacity and pedestrian facilities at the traffic signal junction.”
Blackwell spokesman Adam Lane said: “From our point of view we are working as fast as we can to complete the work and have even done stretches of weekend work. The junction will be ready on or around June 16.”
