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?

I noticed that M word, but others have implied that maybe it's not an actual motorway but instead a very busy A road, so it may still have a footpath of sorts at the side (unlike a motorway), and with the roadworks slowing traffic to a crawl it may be passable for pedestrians, at least in part. If OP provides more info it might be easier to make practical suggestions.

It's the A14. It is 6 lanes and is motorway in all but name. It is extremely dangerous for anyone not in a motor vehicle.

OP I know ebikes are expensive - but you were saying that you were thinking of giving up your job because of the commute. An ebike is cheaper than doing that! If you look at some of the credit deals you can get at the larger bike stores you can get one for £25-50 pcm. Yes, it is an expense and I appreciate that it it is out of the reach of many. But you can't blame people for suggesting it as a possibility.

I always think the commute is worse in the winter, the dark, cold and wet just makes it seem so much harder.

Look forward to Christmas and then know in the new year we will be back to the

Days stretching out again.

Why should OP spend a grand on a bike she doesn’t want when the situation could be massively improved simply by her employers offering flexible working?

You’re a nasty piece of work, aren’t you hav

I’m sure you don’t think swearing at a random on an Internet forum bothers her or upsets her or puts a dampener on her day but it does. It has.

Why should OP spend a grand on a bike she doesn’t want when the situation could be massively improved simply by her employers offering flexible working?

It's not compulsory, just a suggestion! And I'd sort of assumed that if flexible working hours were possible and/ or helped the OP would have gone that route already. I suggested the ebike because people don't always know much about them and there is a tendency to dismiss cycling for reasons which don't stand up to much scrutiny. If the OP doesn't want to cycle or get an ebike that's her call. There's no harm in pointing out that it might make the journey quicker and easier.

Connor not all employers can offer flexible working clearly, but it might be worth OP enquiring since it sounds like a temporary solution if doable. But she would need to go in with the latest information on how long the council thinks this will last etc etc and why alternate forms of transport aren't feasible.

Sorry I upset you, I wasn’t swearing at you. But the way you dismissed 180 posts of people trying to help you with ‘amazed this is still going on’ was very annoying.

Have you consiy "Google wazs"?

Have you consiy "Google wazs"?

Covfefe?

Wazs is a map app that is kept up to date with roadworks by the users.

As soon as I started reading this I knew exactly where you meant. It's utterly hellish round the A14 here, day in, day out.

I'll PM you a link to the local FB group that's invaluable for real-time updates.

In the pitch black with a laptop.

You have a laptop.....so presumably you can work from home (if not, why do you take it home?) so can you flex your hours to miss the rush, or reduce them, or work from home a day or two a week to make it more tolerable?

Thanks bring

hav, many of the suggestions are not workable. I can’t afford an e bike. I can’t walk. I can’t cycle. I can’t park my car in the middle of roadworks. There is no local train station and buses are irregular and unreliable and expensive.

I was very tired and frustrated last week and I did say that on Thursday actually that it wasn’t a serious contemplation but more an ‘oh my god I’m being driven to my depths of despair here.’

Which I am and the traffic is part of that.

But how can you not think such aggression and unpleasantness to someone who has done you no harm wouldn’t upset them? It really did.

No van, I can’t work from home. Otherwise it would be a solution I agree.

OP, not to harangue you, but I don't think you've answered whether you've talked to work about it and if you know for sure they can't be flexible. (I'll apologise again for if I sound patronising). And also are you the only one affected, or are colleagues feeling the same?

Many colleagues are affected yes. But my village is one of the worst (at the moment.)

Have you talked to work at all about it?

Could you compress hours and do 3 1/2 or 4 long days? Or even go part time if you’re considering leaving anyway and can take that financial hit?

OP how grim for you! I can see how it would cause despair and it really doesnt sound like theres much you can do about it. Can you make it outside at lunch time even for 5 mins? Your a human being you need day light. And maybe book the odd Friday or Monday off to keep yourself sane?

I would definitely move house.

Not alone are you trapped, (not just for working days but also the weekend) you are surrounded by trapped people that live in your area. What a misery.

Those bad feelings are contagious. Move house!

hav please stop posting to me.

You have brought me to tears this afternoon. What do you suggest I ‘do about’ twenty odd miles of roadworks!

I have a lot going on.

I do not need your belligerence on a totally harmless thread. And I am not going to be bullied off it. No.

Right ... let's spell it out for everyone who is trying help, but doesn't live here and can't appreciate just how bad it is.

Cycling - absolutely not. It's 2 & 3 lanes, all narrowed by concrete barriers, slicked with mud & filled with nose to tail lorries.

Walking - also absolute not.

Earlier starts - nope. Often additional road or slip road closures overnight, which make it worse.

Park elsewhere - nope. We're talking about a major dual/triple carriageway, not some city street.

Buses - depends on which bit of town we're trying to get to, plus the buses themselves get scuppered by the roadworks. Especially when the drivers miss new sliproads.

Look up notices on websites - we do... and they are not always accurate and often change last minute. The claim that we can be setting off not knowing what routes are open is absolutely genuine. Even apps like waze can't keep up around 8-9pm when the nightime closures are being set up. They also don't take into account the bedlam caused by zero signage, lorries getting stuck in villages, and folks frequently going the wrong way round roundabouts.

We're not exaggerating when we say it's hellish. We expect to take at least an hour to do 5-7 miles. It regularly takes 2 hours to get home.
If your job doesn't allow flexible working or working from home (eg teaching, nursing, retail...), then you're utterly screwed. We've had it for almost 3 years, and there's another year to go.

TL:DR - OP is not exaggerating, it really is that bad

Thank you so much science

I was speaking out of sheer exhaustion and frustration last week and she has given me a link to a fb group which will help.