A ROADWORKS blunder led to the 28-hour closure of a key route into Derby, resulting in 11 miles of gridlock for fed-up motorists.
The A61 Alfreton Road was closed for emergency repairs to a water pipe, which was damaged by workers carrying out improvements at Little Eaton roundabout.
It meant another extension to Derby's jungle of roadworks that have plagued motorists since January.
M1 drivers heading for Derby via the A38 hit queues at Alfreton, resulting in delays of around two hours.
It led to highways bosses recommending a 25-mile diversion via the M1 through Nottinghamshire and then into Derby via the A52 or A50.
Some tried their luck along the A6 but found it heavily congested due to the knock-on effect of the A61 closure.
Despite reports in other media that the road works would end in "early July" the Highways Agency this morning told the Derby Telegraph they were not able to say that, only that work would be finished in July.
South Normanton resident Dillon Connor said the traffic drove him "insane."
The Highways Agency, which burst the water main, admitted it did not know it was there.
Road chaos fury: Drivers vent anger and frustration on social media
IF the roadworks that have throttled Derby in recent months amounted to "the perfect storm", yesterday came the hurricane.
And it blew motorists into a fit of rage.
The inbound closure of the A61 Alfreton Road – for emergency repairs to a water pipe damaged by the Highways Agency – is the latest in a string of road projects that have frustrated commuters for months.
The blunder was next to Little Eaton roundabout, which is swamped with traffic cones as work on a multi-million pound transformation drags into a sixth month.
A similar project is taking place at Markeaton Island.
A combination of all three schemes resulted in an 11-mile tailback along the A38 southbound.
The knock-on effect meant key routes such as the A6 became heavily congested.
Once again, motorists took to social media sites in their droves to vent their anger.
South Normanton resident Dillon Connor told his Twitter followers he had been queuing for 55 minutes and it was "driving me insane".
Student Hayley Richardson said she faced missing an exam because of the traffic.
Another complained she sat through the congestion to attend a lesson that ended up being cancelled.
Ali Richardson, of Chesterfield, tweeted: "Been sat on the A38 for an hour and a half going pretty much nowhere... am over an hour late for a meeting #NotAGoodMorning."
Derby County fan Mandy Evans said her slog into the city took one hour and 45 minutes and she was "not impressed".
She tweeted: "Patience now wearing so thin with A38 roadworks. Start working 24 hours and sort it!!!"
The Highways Agency admitted its workmen damaged the water main because they did not know it was there.
Incredibly, Kevin Harvey, project manager for the Little Eaton scheme, said Severn Trent did not know it was there either.
He said: "During work on the A38 Little Eaton scheme yesterday, a water pipe that both the Highways Agency and Severn Trent Water were unaware of, burst causing a water main leak. The A61 southbound was closed as a result.
"The water pipe had no stop valve and needed emergency repair by Severn Trent Water. This resulted in the A61 having to be closed southbound."
On Facebook, Alison Redshaw said the closure meant it took her an hour and 20 minutes to get home.
"I normally get home in 35 minutes," she wrote. "The poor dog thought she'd been abandoned."
Faye Capenerhurst, from Ripley, added: "Been stuck for an hour now... no option to sit in it as no option to turn around... bad road management again caused by these ridiculous roadworks."
Motorists also vented their frustration on the Derby Telegraph's website.
Reader 'Ribcrackers' said: "I approached this debacle from the Pektron Roundabout at 6.50am and it was a standstill.
"If the people responsible for mitigating traffic congestion just had the foresight to switch on the part-time traffic lights, it would have solved the problem.
"We're told work is going on around the clock until the problem is fixed.
Really? Once I reached the Little Eaton roundabout I saw three guys in high-visibility jackets.
"None of this looks or feels like they are trying to keep Derby flowing."
Emmfor wrote: "Seriously!! All this is taking the mick now!! I live in Little Eaton and getting out any time of the day or night is hell.
"The drivers of the company vans doing the work are racing round Little Eaton like maniacs most of the time, so I'm questioning exactly how much work they are getting done down at the island.
"During the day, any amount of lanes can be closed with no warning. The other week, both lanes were open approaching the island from Pektron, yet randomly it was down to one lane once you got on the island, with no warning.
"This meant that people were getting extremely annoyed with each other. All the more annoying when the guys in high visibility jackets are stood there smirking.
"On a positive note, Derby city centre roads are fairly quiet. I'm assuming that is because people just cannot get in."
Tiggr said he had to give up travelling from Belper to Kingsway.
He said: "The A6 was fine until Palm Court roundabout, from where it looked solid going into Derby.
"I looked down on the A38 and it was at a standstill heading south. I tried cutting through Allestree but the traffic was crawling along Blenheim Drive and Askerfield Drive towards Kedleston Road.
"I gave it up as a bad job and came home."
A spokeswoman for Severn Trent, which carried out the repairs to the burst water pipe, apologised for the delays.
She said: "We've had to carry out emergency work to repair a large water pipe on the Alfreton Road in Derby, near to the Little Eaton Roundabout.
"This is because a third party contractor hit the pipe while they were carrying out work there, and damaged it.
"We'd like to say sorry for any inconvenience caused to our customers as we know this is a busy road.
"However we had no choice but to immediately carry out the repair work."
Road chaos fury: Drivers vent anger and frustration on social media
IF the roadworks that have throttled Derby in recent months amounted to "the perfect storm", yesterday came the hurricane.
And it blew motorists into a fit of rage.
The inbound closure of the A61 Alfreton Road – for emergency repairs to a water pipe damaged by the Highways Agency – is the latest in a string of road projects that have frustrated commuters for months.
The blunder was next to Little Eaton roundabout, which is swamped with traffic cones as work on a multi-million pound transformation drags into a sixth month.
A similar project is taking place at Markeaton Island.
A combination of all three schemes resulted in an 11-mile tailback along the A38 southbound.
The knock-on effect meant key routes such as the A6 became heavily congested.
Once again, motorists took to social media sites in their droves to vent their anger.
South Normanton resident Dillon Connor told his Twitter followers he had been queuing for 55 minutes and it was "driving me insane".
Student Hayley Richardson said she faced missing an exam because of the traffic.
Another complained she sat through the congestion to attend a lesson that ended up being cancelled.
Ali Richardson, of Chesterfield, tweeted: "Been sat on the A38 for an hour and a half going pretty much nowhere... am over an hour late for a meeting #NotAGoodMorning."
Derby County fan Mandy Evans said her slog into the city took one hour and 45 minutes and she was "not impressed".
She tweeted: "Patience now wearing so thin with A38 roadworks. Start working 24 hours and sort it!!!"
The Highways Agency admitted its workmen damaged the water main because they did not know it was there.
Incredibly, Kevin Harvey, project manager for the Little Eaton scheme, said Severn Trent did not know it was there either.
He said: "During work on the A38 Little Eaton scheme yesterday, a water pipe that both the Highways Agency and Severn Trent Water were unaware of, burst causing a water main leak. The A61 southbound was closed as a result.
"The water pipe had no stop valve and needed emergency repair by Severn Trent Water. This resulted in the A61 having to be closed southbound."
On Facebook, Alison Redshaw said the closure meant it took her an hour and 20 minutes to get home.
"I normally get home in 35 minutes," she wrote. "The poor dog thought she'd been abandoned."
Faye Capenerhurst, from Ripley, added: "Been stuck for an hour now... no option to sit in it as no option to turn around... bad road management again caused by these ridiculous roadworks."
Motorists also vented their frustration on the Derby Telegraph's website.
Reader 'Ribcrackers' said: "I approached this debacle from the Pektron Roundabout at 6.50am and it was a standstill.
"If the people responsible for mitigating traffic congestion just had the foresight to switch on the part-time traffic lights, it would have solved the problem.
"We're told work is going on around the clock until the problem is fixed.
Really? Once I reached the Little Eaton roundabout I saw three guys in high-visibility jackets.
"None of this looks or feels like they are trying to keep Derby flowing."
Emmfor wrote: "Seriously!! All this is taking the mick now!! I live in Little Eaton and getting out any time of the day or night is hell.
"The drivers of the company vans doing the work are racing round Little Eaton like maniacs most of the time, so I'm questioning exactly how much work they are getting done down at the island.
"During the day, any amount of lanes can be closed with no warning. The other week, both lanes were open approaching the island from Pektron, yet randomly it was down to one lane once you got on the island, with no warning.
"This meant that people were getting extremely annoyed with each other. All the more annoying when the guys in high visibility jackets are stood there smirking.
"On a positive note, Derby city centre roads are fairly quiet. I'm assuming that is because people just cannot get in."
Tiggr said he had to give up travelling from Belper to Kingsway.
He said: "The A6 was fine until Palm Court roundabout, from where it looked solid going into Derby.
"I looked down on the A38 and it was at a standstill heading south. I tried cutting through Allestree but the traffic was crawling along Blenheim Drive and Askerfield Drive towards Kedleston Road.
"I gave it up as a bad job and came home."
A spokeswoman for Severn Trent, which carried out the repairs to the burst water pipe, apologised for the delays.
She said: "We've had to carry out emergency work to repair a large water pipe on the Alfreton Road in Derby, near to the Little Eaton Roundabout.
"This is because a third party contractor hit the pipe while they were carrying out work there, and damaged it.
"We'd like to say sorry for any inconvenience caused to our customers as we know this is a busy road.
"However we had no choice but to immediately carry out the repair work."
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