Newly published figures have revealed the hotspots where roadworks overran the longest – with the worst hold-ups caused by a simple failure to collect signs.
Roadworks being carried out by utilities companies overran by a whopping 1,317 days in 2024, causing the equivalent of more than three-and-a-half years of disruption, says the Diss Mercury.
Anglian Water received 165 fines from Norfolk County Council for overrunning roadworks, according to statistics obtained through the Freedom Of Information Act.
In three of the worst cases of delays, the company failed to remove road signs after the completion of works – meaning drivers were held up for days on end without any real cause. In another example, Buxton Road, Cawston, Anglian Water roadworks overran for 57 days. Work there began on July 17 last year and should have finished by July 22, but the signs were still in place two months later.
In Holt Road, Weybourne, its work overran by 44 days, while a scheme in March Riverside, at Upwell, went on for 37 days beyond the anticipated end date.
The water company was issued with fines of £14,250, £11,000 and £13,875 by Norfolk County Council for the trio of incidents, but ended up paying just £100 for the first two schemes and £3,700 for the Upwell overrun.
In each of these cases, road signs were left on site after work had been completed. Legislation sets a maximum fine of £100 where five or fewer signs are left on site and they are cleared within two days of the company being informed of that.
An Anglian Water spokeswoman said:
“As part of our job to keep taps running and toilets flushing, we sometimes need to use traffic management such as lights, closures and diversions while we work in or near the road. This is really important to keep our teams – and members of the public – safe while we’re working. We work with other parties when it comes to traffic management to make sure the most suitable option is chosen, so we can minimise disruption as much as possible while we complete essential work across our network.
“We understand that this can be frustrating, especially at busier points of the year – such as school summer holidays – and would like to thank road users and customers for their patience.”
The biggest fine issued by County Hall for overshooting roadworks was £81,000 to UK Power Networks, following a blunder over double yellow lines in Oak Street, Norwich.
The company started work in the street on October 15 last year, which was was due to finish on October 29. However, the company failed to repaint a section of double yellow lines, so the work technically overran by 27 working days before completion.
Given the unusual circumstances, the council agreed to reduce the initial £81,000 fine to £2,700, based on a rate of £100 for each extra day.
A spokeswoman for UK Power Networks said:
“We apologise that a short section of double yellow lines was not repainted across a driveway in Oak Street, Norwich. This was rectified as soon as we became aware of it. The charge was amended to a considerably lower figure in agreement with the highways authority to reflect our immediate response.”
“We carry out approximately 1,400 excavations annually in Norfolk and our highly trained teams always strive to maintain high standards around our streetworks.”
More than £680,000 in fines was issued to companies but just £345,000 of that was paid -with many charges ultimately reduced.
(Pic: Oak Road, Norwich/Mapillary)
