'We don't know why these roadworks are happening'

"Frustrating" and "chaotic" is how some residents and business owners are describing roadworks in a town, which are causing long queues, and they say they do not even know why they are taking place.

The main route to the M66 along Rochdale Road, Bury, has been subject to months of work, with temporary traffic lights and lane reductions in place.

One driver said it took him 75 minutes to travel up a stretch of road he could have walked in 10 minutes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A Bury Council spokesperson said the roadworks were part of efforts to create "safer, greener and more accessible travel" for residents.

Rhian Griffith, who lives off Rochdale Road, said she believed the junction of Albert Road - a main through-route for the residential area - and Rochdale Road were only closing temporarily, but it had been permanently closed off as part of the work.

The 32-year-old added: "I don't know what they're doing, you'd think it'd be for the better, but so far it's just a bit frustrating."

Gemma Skelly from Gemma's Beauty Clinic in Bond Street said the roadworks had been in front of her business for several months.

She and her colleague Lucy Benyon said they had got most of their information from the people doing the work, rather than Bury Council.

"We don't actually know what they're doing apart from, I think they're moving a crossing, which is all we know so far," said Benyon.

Skelly said the "gridlocked" roads meant her customers were often late for appointments.

Adrees Masood from AJ Mobiles on Rochdale Road said he had seen a significant drop in the number of customers since the work began as people shunned the area for the town centre.

But resident James Kennedy, 70, supported the work, saying the closure of the Albert Road and Rochdale Road junction was a "godsend" and "if it means they've got to be inconvenienced while they reconfigure the junction and further aspects of the town centre, I'm all for it".

A Bury Council spokesperson said junction upgrades, "new and improved" pedestrian crossings, continuous footpaths, traffic calming measures and "low-traffic zones" were all part of the project, with work due to be completed this winter.

"We understand the impacts of the disruption and are doing all we can to ensure the work is completed in a safe and timely manner," a council spokesperson said.

"We continue to thank everyone for their patience while the work is being carried out."

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