A POWER firm has apologised to drivers after traffic lights needed for emergency repairs have caused long delays across the town.
Electrical works by UK Power Networks near St John's Church, in Ipswich Road, Colchester, began on Tuesday with temporary traffic lights put in place.
The move has since been causing a build up of slow traffic along the stretch of Ipswich Road during the morning and evening rush hours.
Paul Smith, Lib Dem councillor for the St John's area, said: "There have been lots of roadworks in the area recently.
"We had potholes being patched, Anglian Water has also been around Ipswich Road digging up drains and it's a real shame things are not being properly co-ordinated.
"We currently are facing delays that cause plenty of problems.
"This week we are struggling with the traffic lights on Ipswich Road - it seems like a proper lack of co-ordination.
"It's frustrating that as councillors we are not being given any warnings about what is going on, so we cannot really help the residents who need our help."
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Jocelyn Law, Labour councillor representing Highwoods, said: "The issue is with the roadworks and the impact of the traffic.
"From my perspective, it would have been better if the work could have been scheduled during the holiday period when there was less traffic around.
"It's impacting so much more people than it could have been and residents from the area are greatly impacted.
"The roadworks are having a great impact on that part of north Colchester.
"Right now Ipswich Road residents feel impacted by a lot of issues and it makes them feel powerless."
A spokesman from UK Power Network said the traffic lights were used to provide safe space for engineers to maintain cables under the road.
The spokesman added: "Engineers from UK Power Networks have been completing emergency repairs to an underground cable on Ipswich Road in Colchester.
"For safety reasons, we needed to close one lane in order to protect our workforce and the public during this work to maintain reliable electricity supplies in the local area.
"We expect to complete this work in the next couple of days.
"We apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused during this essential work."
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