ANYONE who drives, takes the bus, walks or cycles in Colchester will be aware of the disruptive roadworks being carried out in Ipswich Road.

The £10million plans will see mini-roundabouts at the junctions of Ipswich Road and the Avenue of Remembrance and Harwich Road and St Andrew's Avenue removed and replaced with one larger roundabout at each junction.

Highways bosses say the works, which will last more than a year, will improve the road network in the long term.

But there has been frustration at the timescale and the perceived lack of work going on at the site at certain times of the day.

A petition on the matter has already garnered more than 2,000 signatures.

Kevin Bentley, deputy leader of Essex County Council, has sought to address concerns.

He told the Gazette: “I sympathise greatly with everyone affected by the delays in this area of Colchester, particularly at peak times.

"I am very sorry this work is causing people difficulties. We know many people have found alternative routes and some have taken to buses, bikes and walking for short journeys at those times.

"The queues are very unfortunate, but are an unavoidable consequence of needing to make these vital improvements to traffic capacity and safety along these key routes through and around Colchester for years to come."

He added: "We have to keep the A133 and the vital junctions at Ipswich Road and Harwich Road open to avoid bringing the town to a halt, which means we can only close one lane at a time on St Andrews Avenue which makes the work take longer.

"This is a multi-million project and we have a responsibility to deliver this work within budget."

On the speed of the scheme, the senior Conservative added: "The improvement scheme is complicated by the need to move utility pipes and cables, strengthen walls and work only on part of the road to keep one lane open throughout.

"The scheme has to be done in phases, so that some work to widen lanes can only be done after utility services have been moved, for example.

"We are constantly talking with the main contractor, Eurovia, to see where any traffic management can be improved or where there are opportunities to manage the programme of works to finish in as short a time as possible.

"Please do bear with us, we greatly appreciate the patience shown by road users who understand that for safe working and safe driving we must have the barriers in place in a planned, coordinated way.”