Residents voice concerns over year-long A52 roadworks near Nottingham, fearing traffic and business impact.
National Highways announced work near Queen’s Medical Centre, which will take a year. Bridge repairs already cause problems for drivers, and buses are even changing their routes. Residents fear the agency won’t stop disruptions.
One resident, Mervyn Hutchings, thinks evenings are already bad and worries about one-way traffic. He says older people may struggle to reach the hospital and thinks twelve months of work is a major problem. He wants agencies to communicate better.
Mervyn remembers getting letters about past work, but now, he wakes up to construction noises. He thinks communication should improve immediately.
Umar runs a car parts shop near Priory Island and road work has hurt his business before. He fears a one-way system will hurt sales again. Umar says quick repairs are important to customers, as people may not visit if detours exist. He thinks congestion isn’t always a big issue. He thinks these roadworks could hurt local businesses very badly; right now, the costs of running a business are already high.
The engineers say the work will ease A52 congestion. A new path for walkers and cyclists is coming and it will connect Wollaton Park and the University. Crossings will have better lights for pedestrians. The westbound lane closes first for four months, then, the eastbound lane closes for four months.
Traffic will detour via Woodside Road and University Boulevard. It will then rejoin the A52 at Dunkirk Island, or the reverse, affecting Adam’s Hill residents. Christopher Hurst lives on Adam’s Hill and, while he is more positive about the road work plans, he also wants better alerts. He notes that the road could use more space. Christopher says they never get notices about road work, and projects start without warning. Plans often change at the last minute, which is annoying.
Charlotte Stirling also lives on Derby Road and thinks the road work will cause problems; she thinks the closure will last a long time and it will be annoying. Charlotte wonders why they can’t do everything at once. For her, having to go all the way around to nearby places is inconvenient, and, she suggests better planning.
Sue Chambers manages the project for National Highways. She feels doing more work now will mean less trouble later, and the project should improve things overall. The agency hosts events where people can share views as they want input on the road work. The agency wants to get community thoughts.