Which county has the most ongoing roadworks? I seem to spend half of my life stuck in traffic jams.

[Dreamsfallapartattheseams]

Right now it feels like it is Essex (unfortunately, where I live) and in particular my nearest city, Colchester.

Every bloody road I turn into seems to have some kind of road works going on. Traffic lights which seem stuck on red and it takes forever just to move 5 miles through the town. I really want to move.

How bad is your nearest town/city? Is Essex the worst?

Buckinghamshire is dreadful - near me we have HS2 ripping up the countryside left right and centre - it's been happening for years, constant road closures (one I use to get to work has been closed for 18 months!) - and then they close off some of the alternative routes too. It's terrible.

I live in Worcestershire and it feels like every other road has works. Getting to the next town from ours is a nightmare.

Not Herefordshire as everywhere seems to still be full of potholes that they're ignoring.

West Sussex is a nightmare. Some roadworks are scheduled for 6 months. They seem to arrange it so that all routes out of the village are blocked at the same time.

Surrey terrible too. Guess it’s maybe time of year?

Oh dear, looks as though much of the country has the same problem, especially the South.

Wonder if it's as bad in northern areas of the UK?

Buckinghamshire roads are dreadful. HS2 is making my heart bleed the way they are ripping up the countryside.

I'd be fine about them if the roadworks did any good but they fill potholes so poorly that they return within a week of the work being completed.

I bet someone's making a packet out of it.

Chester here...bloody nightmare!! Road closures, diversions, more road closures and more diversions. Getting from A to B takes FOREVER!@

Manchester has essentially been one massive roadwork for the last four years. God only knows why and what they're doing!

Bucks he too... No joined up thinking where roadworks are concerned.

Not to mention any road works that need doing now take different teams to get them done...
Traffic lights set up by one team sometimes a day or two before works start...

Hole dug by another team.

Work commences, whenever, in some case for a few hours, then no one on site for days...

Team to fill in any holes made...

Team to return and remove lights.

And whilst I understand for safety reason's when working on pavements/grass edges workmen sometimes have to close off one lane of traffic using lights I can't see why the lights aren't moved to the side of an evening/daytime when no one is working there.

They're removing the dual carriageway through our town (NE Scotland) to make what's meant to be a nicer area for pedestrians and cyclists with a single carriageway road beside it. It's been utter chaos as every single time you go through they've changed the layout again. At busy times depending on the layout (they keep switching between a coned roundabout or temporary traffic lights) people have been 45 minutes to travel a stretch that would normally be 5 minutes max. Even for pedestrians it's been chaos as they've removed loads of pedestrian crossings and have tall fences up so you can't cross the road between the few crossings that are left. We're only a few months into it now and I think the full thing is meant to be 18 months of work if it goes to plan.

A couple of months ago there were also roadworks and diversions on every single road out of town to just add to the misery. DH spent a few nights at my parents' house when that happened because it meant he was closer to his work.

I quite agree with you,it’s a nightmare getting anywhere around Colchester at anytime of day or night, I saw four Essex Highway vans turn up to fill one pot hole earlier this week, Busses run late most days, I waited 30 minutes today hoping to get to M&S but gave up & went back home cold.

All roadworks in my area are done in March (to use up the budget before the end of the year) or April (new year, new budget). This means there are either 4 sets of temporary traffic lights on my commute, or none - there's no in between!

Other than that, can't really complain, although it would be nice if they could fill in some potholes occasionally.

Me too and I agree

What gets me is that considering this country is skint - there never ever ever seems to be any shortage of funds to be spent on roadworks? Something very suspicious about that!

The other pet hate which happens A LOT is coning off the road and not doing any work there. I always report this now to the Highways Agency.

@Chowtime I don’t know if I’m believing fake news but I’ve read the council will
spend all their money on roadworks to avoid having their budget cut next year. Either way I’m sick of the temporary traffic lights!

@chowtime they have to spend the money to get it reallocated next year. I work in procurement (not in procuring roadworks) and it's always mental at the end of the year. How not to run a business...

Anyway, I give you Oxford(shire). I've been gone once or twice a month for work for a few years and it is neverending.

Manchester and Cheshire just as bad.

We don’t have a car currently and I’ve been thinking about them wistfully now the cold and the dark are here. Thanks for the reminder that having a car means spending hours in traffic! Not that trains or buses or walking in the rain are any better!

It used to be more at the end of March but now it is all year.

Round our way it is Cadent gas. I've been driving through roadworks since the Summer on same stretch. Absolute pain

A lot of ours is City Fibre. They make a complete mess of the pavements too. A nearby road had a tarmac pavement laid. It was so badly done that it formed huge puddles within a week and had to be redone. It doesn’t really look any better now though.