The Cambridgeshire town where locals are 'fed up' with months of traffic 'chaos'

Emergency road and lane closures have been in effect across Whittlesey
-Credit: (Image: Steven Oldfield)


People living in a Cambridgeshire town say they are 'fed up' with ongoing traffic chaos in the area. A number of lane closures and roadworks have been in place around Whittlesey in recent months.

The B1040 in East Delph was forced to shut due to a collapsed bank, although one lane has since re-opened. One lane of the westbound Ralph Butcher Causeway at King's Dyke is also closed, as well as Benwick Road due to cracks on the surface.

Two-way traffic lights have been put in place while the closures and works are in effect. However, many locals said these have had a massive impact on travelling around the town because of congestion.

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"It's even worse for our local residents"

Closures have been in place on the B1040 at East Delph, Ralph Butcher Causeway and Benwick Road
Closures have been in place on the B1040 at East Delph, Ralph Butcher Causeway and Benwick Road -Credit:Steven Oldfield

Joanne Ellis, who works at Old Fletton Surgery, said: "I usually get to my work in 15 to 20 minutes. Unfortunately due to this chaos it is now taking me 40 minutes + just to only get down the road as I only work in Fletton.

"The traffic lights are not controlled well at all during the rush hour times. Once the North Bank B0140 floods it is even worse for our local residents. We are no further forward with the Ralph Butcher Causeway."

"The chaos is going to be unbearable"

Alan Whysall added: "The recent flooding on the B1040/North Bank showed how many people also use those roads, as during those closures the queues at 17:30 started between Amazon and Cardea, and it was taking 20-30 minutes to get from that point into Whittlesey. If we have another wet spell or indeed a wet winter, then the chaos on the A605 is going be unbearable.

"Once the flooding subsided, the delays did improve, I would say 5-10 minutes at most, but the B1040 is now closed for a month from today, and we are also heading in Autumn/Winter so much more chaos and longer delays are foreseeable. The only other possible route back into town is in my opinion dangerous and not fit for large volumes of traffic which involves using the Ramsey Road towards Ponders Bridge then heading north into Whittlesey, which is a road I avoid unless I need to use it, due to the uneven surface.

"The main gripe I think is that for many years, some say over 40 years a bridge was always being promised. And now we have it, the queues are just as bad as when we had a level crossing. There is constant housebuilding in Whittesey, who in their right would buy here at the moment with no guarantee we are going to be adequately connected to Peterborough."

"I am absolutely fed up with it"

There have been multiple reports of delays and congestion due to the works
There have been multiple reports of delays and congestion due to the works -Credit:Steven Oldfield

Richard Jones, who owns The Fenland Roaster on Northey Road, said: "With this road closure, it has resulted in an extensive diversion costing more in fuel and time. Today for example the road is closed and no work happening on the repairs. Why is this happening?

"Surely they are losing more time and costing more money in pointless road closures. Why are they not working on it 24/7 as its not a residential area. I am absolutely fed up with it. Many times the road has been closed for so called flooding but with no water on the roads.

"All the above coupled with the fiasco of the Ralph Butcher bridge upheaval is just to much. People need to be held responsible for the bad decisions made."

"Everything just grinds to a halt"

Councillor Elisabeth Sennitt Clough said: "With the B1040 North towards Dog-in-a-Doublet, we've got a situation there where it floods and there's been some damage to the road. Now that happened last winter and they closed the lane off in February and so that's there from February when they put the traffic lights there and closed the lane off.

"Then you've got the B1040 South towards Ponter's Bridge which is the diversion route for when the bridge traffic is too congested. That has really precarious bumps and when you hit them at 30mph, its like being on a rollercoaster, so that road is in a terrible state of repair as well and also never mind the fact you're diverting all this traffic around through a very small village - Pondersbridge, so it has an impact on those villages as well.

"The traffic problem started a long time ago and then its been compounded by the fact that the bridge was identified as having structural issues and cracks in June/July timeframe and a lane was closed and apparently they are still doing tests. There are a lot of variables, but the whole time that lane was closed, people sort of got on and managed okay.

"Repairs can't be done in certain weather conditions admittedly, but when you've got a lane closed for 10 months, another lane closed for over a year, that's an excessive amount of time and so as soon as there is an accident or something along the A605 or a road which diverts traffic through Whittlesey, everything just grinds to a halt."

"Many months of infuriating delays"

Many locals have said that the works have had a massive impact on travelling to and from the town
Many locals have said that the works have had a massive impact on travelling to and from the town -Credit:Steven Oldfield

Councillor Saeed Arman recently launched a petition, calling for Cambridgeshire County Council to prioritise the works on the A605 at King's Dyke Bridge and B1040 South of Dog-in-a-Doublet. It has currently been signed by more than 800 people so far.

The petition said: "The B1040 and the A605 are the only direct roads between Whittlesey and Peterborough, with several tens of thousands of vehicle movements every weekday. Every year, the B1040 floods, as it is part of the Whittlesey Washes flood plain.

"When the B1040 closes because of flooding, only the A605 is left as a direct road route between Whittlesey and Peterborough. At the time of writing this petition, there have been restrictions on the B1040 for eight months, and restrictions on the A605 at King's Bridge for four months, strangling traffic into and out of Whittlesey, particularly at peak hours.

"Residents and workers in Whittlesey are fed up with so many months of infuriating delays. This petition calls on Cambridgeshire Highways to prioritise the works necessary by contractors so that the temporary traffic lights can be removed from both locations, permitting the normal flow of traffic to be resumed as soon as possible."

Closures in place 'for safety reasons'

Cambridgeshire County Council confirmed in its latest update that work on the structural repairs to the B1040 has begun and is expected to finish on November 22. They added that an emergency lane closure remains in place on Ralph Butcher Causeway and programmed works on Benwick Road are scheduled for late November.

In its update, the authority said: "We’re working hard to minimise the disruption and apologise for the frustrations caused. We are continuing to monitor the impact on traffic and manage the flows as best as possible.

"We understand people’s frustrations, but these closures are in place for safety reasons and would urge drivers not to ignore the warning signs. We are continuing to work with our contractors on accelerating the repair work needed as quickly as possible and they are also manually operating the traffic lights at King’s Dyke and Benwick Road, so we can keep traffic moving where possible during peak hours."

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