I wrote to the Highways Agency following the awful gridlock caused by roadworks on the A585 at the end of May.

The Head of Planning & Development for the North West has replied to say he’s sorry for the inconvenience caused to drivers along this route due to the temporary traffic lights that were set up.

“These were installed whilst a contractor on behalf of a utility company carried out planned works on the carriageway. As soon as we became aware of the delays, we sent one our inspectors to the area and determined that the temporary lights were not being managed in accordance with what was agreed when the works were booked. As a result of this, and following liaison with the police, we advised the contractor that the works had to be removed. The road was reinstated on 30 May and the temporary lights and associated traffic management were removed and the road was fully opened. It was then agreed that the works to the carriageway would need to be completed overnight. I am pleased to confirm that the works on the carriageway were completed on the night of 7 June, the remaining works which didn’t require use of the carriageway were completed on 10 June.”

Lets hope lessons have been learnt and we don’t experience this kind of disruption again.