We now learn the A12 roadworks will finish over a month late (Gazette, March 3).

The Colchester to Chelmsford stretch is regularly dug up over the winter.

This is the second, consecutive winter that the works have over-run.

Is the Highways Agency surprised by cold weather in winter?

Why is the work never done in summer when the weight of traffic is substantially reduced, especially over the school summer holidays?

What does the phrase “until March”, which has become “until April”, actually mean? If the work is completed on April 30, will they have met their target?

I notice that even during these difficult times on the A12, the DVLA continues to post one of its checking vehicles in a layby around Witham during rush hour, just where it can lengthen the queues being caused by the roadworks.

It is currently taking me an hour to reach the outskirts of Chelmsford, as if some kind of continental shift is causing it to move away.

Some mornings I feel like Ernest Shackleton striking out for Elephant Island!

Why not use public transport, some might say. I consider myself quite well paid, but I’m not in that financial bracket.

Richard Blye
Riddles Close
Colchester