Salhouse Road traffic lights fault cause queues in Sprowston

Work on a long-awaited cycle path in Salhouse Road started in Sprowston in mid-December, alongside Harrison's Wood, and has brought disruption for commuters - with reports of the lights failing on several occasions.

The work is being carried out by housing developers Persimmon Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Hopkins Homes and is expected to continue until May.

Roadworks currently going on in Salhouse Road (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

Those issues came to a head this morning as long tailbacks formed for city-bound traffic, stretching beyond the permanent traffic lights at Atlantic Avenue and much of the way back to the NDR roundabout.

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A glimpse of the chaos was caught on camera by a passenger travelling along Salhouse Road towards Rackheath showing roughly 40 vehicles backed up as more joined the queue.

James Vasco, a town councillor for Sprowston East, has been stuck in the queues before and said: "I'm as frustrated as everybody else.

"I've been stuck in it myself as I live nearby and take the road to work.

A video clip was taken showing the queue of traffic up to the NDR due to the traffic light issues (Image: Submitted)

"It's important that works like this run smoothly and any issues are rectified as soon as possible.

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"Those in charge of the lights have a duty to ensure it's fit for purpose, especially how busy that part of the city is."

The Salhouse roadworks are expected to continue until May this year (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

The housing consortium responsible for the work - made up of Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Hopkins Homes - has shifted the blame onto motorists.

A spokeswoman said: "Motorists have been failing to stop at the red light which is causing the opposing lights to revert back to red to prevent cars meeting."

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Another Sprowston East councillor, Martin Booth, said of the problems: "It shouldn't be happening.

"The road is very busy with the link to the NDR and especially with the work being done at the Heartsease roundabout.

The issues with the traffic lights have been branded not acceptable (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

"It's not acceptable and the lights should be monitored to quickly rectify if anything goes wrong."

The housing consortium has previously been criticised for being slow to deliver community facilities on the White House Farm estate, with land off Blue Boar Lane being developed with a skatepark and play area for those living nearby.

The Salhouse roadworks started in mid-December last year (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)