To be considering leaving my job because of this?

[fadedafternoons]

I live in a village about 5 miles from work.

There are ongoing roadworks just outside the village meaning road closures and diversions.

It isn’t an exaggeration to say that at peak times it’s like an island, no one can get in or out. It takes me an hour and a half to get to work. Coming home is hit and miss.

I’m utterly sick to death of it.

AIBU?

Yeah it would piss me off but you need to be proactive -

get people together from the affected villages and approach the contractor/highways to ask them what the programme is for completion of works

Road closures get planned weeks/months in advance - ask them to have a way of notifying residents

Ask highways what they are doing to ease congestion in the short to medium term

If the congestion through villages is bad monitor co2 levels from idling cars - might then be able to argue it's reducing quality of life

Presumably once the roadworks are finished you'll have a bypass or something which in the long term will improve traffic in your village?

Unfortunately progress can't be made without causing some disruption

Do you hate your job?

You sound like you’ve already decided to quit.

Do you have caring responsibilities at home? If not, can you stay near work temporarily? I do feel your pain. Something similar happened to me the year I was pregnant and training to be a teacher. J could have really used that extra hour I wasted in roadworks each day.

However, there will be signs up saying who's running the project. Find out details if the chief executive. Phone, email or tweet them daily. Get together with neighbours and take turns. Make sure they know how incredibly inconvenient it is. Local press too and contact your MP.

We did this this summer with a utility company and the 'unsolvable' problem got fixed surprisingly quickly!

@HugoSpritz That was my first thought too. By the time they finish it they'll be starting at the beginning again.

OP, all I can suggest is that you leave early (before standstill traffic) and either do something you need to do, like shopping, or take a thermos of tea and a book with you.

To add, you completely have my sympathies.

These roadworks have been going on for years already, and I know many people who are at breaking point. Especially when there's no end in sight.

That’s the thing - I do feel at breaking point! I only got home at 8 last night and out again by just before 7! I’ve got a headache anyway.

Can you afford to take a break from working for a year or so? It sounds like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. You either decide to take a break from work, or keep going until you break and get signed off on sickness (and that won't last long enough to solve the problem).

Coming from sideways, if you own your house, could you rent it out and rent somewhere in an area that isn't effected as badly, until the worst is over?

You have my sympathies OP.

I travel east-west-east along the a14 past Cambridge and its bad enough for me but at least i'm not trying to get to a village within the horror!
It will pass if you can hold out. I guess it depends on what your job is and if you'll get something else when its all over. After all, you're going to need to get in and out of the village whatever you do.
btw the Brampton hut new layout comes into effect on 9th December so things in west cambs should ease a bit: it'll be the widening etc further east that takes another few months.

Can you work from home?

Planned roadworks will be scheduled and managed by the council Highways department. There may be a notification you can sign up to about which roads are closed and for how long. Can you leave earlier, before the traffic builds and have breakfast before work starts. How fixed are your hours? Could you work from home some days or if you left early ?

Any chance of using the train? Even if it means driving the opposite way a few miles to a station? ( obvs only works if your work is near a station). When I'm at work I drive 15 minutes to the station for a 10 minutes train journey and a 3 min walk to work, otherwise its over an hour at least to drive. The train is also considerably cheaper for me than driving and parking, I also find the small walk and the train relaxing after work. I realise I'm fortunate to live and work with cheap transport links.

@fadedafternoons are you posting while driving or exaggerating journey times?

You're being a bit defeatist OP. So what it takes you a long time. Many people have much longer commutes.
Sounds like you don't like the job anyway. Any excuse to quit it.

The nearest train station would still involve fighting through the worst of the traffic.

give no

Probably, ten, I don’t mind my job, I am however utterly miserable as I have no real life outside of work. I’m more likely to move house though. But that’s probably a bit extreme too. I understand many people have longer journeys, it’s not just the length of the journey but the stress of the commute.

Could you move house instead?? Temporarily if you own? If you rent, could you find somewhere closer to work??

If you leave at 6.15 what is the traffic like?

Get a moped

So what it takes you a long time. Many people have much longer commutes

Fuck that OP if you can afford to and you don't like the job much anyway I'd start looking around. Life's too bloody short to spend three hours every day commuting if you can avoid it.

The thing is, wherever you work you're going to have the same problems. So if you can afford to not work for the next few years, then do it. If you can't, you're going to have to think laterally. Like looking for a job with flexible working, or that will allow you to work one or two days a week from home.

Judicious use of your annual leave could help too - have you any days left? While having 'proper' breaks from work is really important, at the moment you'd be better off taking a day a week or a day a fortnight to give you a break from the commute.

Is it the A14 Huntington? You don't have to say. Some of my colleagues are working on it. The bypass is due to open soon in December and there are various websites where you can sign up for traffic updates and news. www.scambs.gov.uk/community-development/transport/a14-cambridge-to-huntingdon-improvements/a14-road-closures-updated-weekly/

Hopefully once they get the viaduct down in Huntington things will start to return to normal.

I meant to say, honestly try to find out how much is left. They will have a community liason officer, you could ring /email them directly and say please just tell me how long until xx to xx route is open before I leave my job!

I’d be tempted to book into a Travelodge close to work every so often just to get a break from it.

It is crap.
In this situation, I made sure I had stuff I really wanted to listen to on Audible and made it a ‘relaxing’ part of my day. I knew it was going to take an extra hour each way, so made the most of it by listening to books I wanted to read.

Final comment from me honest, it's "those" roadworks there is a scheme Facebook page which is up to date and judging from comments you aren't alone. You might still change your job but make sure you have all the info before such a big decision. Its really hard living close to these big projects.