TRADERS in west Hull say they have never seen traffic congestion as bad as today's. The combination of a broken down lorry and the start of bridge replacement works on Spring Bank West was blamed for the gridlock, which caused delays of nearly an hour for some commuters heading into the city centre this morning.And motorists were being warned to expect further delays in this evening's rush hour. Bus firm EYMS reported traffic heading westwards on Anlaby Road was at a near standstill by 4.30pm this afternoon.
Karen Kamis, 42, owner of The Salon Door, Anlaby Road, said: "It's never been this bad before, it's the worst we've ever seen. It's gone on all morning and is going to cause lots of problems for people, especially with it being Christmas. Hopefully they can sort it out sooner rather than later".
One lane of the A63 was closed eastbound between Mytongate Roundabout and the Prince's Dock Street junction, because of the breakdown, causing traffic to back up as far as the Humber Bridge. Motorists, spotting the jams, then turned off the dual carriageway, causing delays on other main roads, including Boothferry Road, Hessle Road, Anlaby Road, and Askew Avenue.
This lunchtime, EYMS announced services heading into Hull Paragon Interchange would bypass the city centre in a bid to make-up time. Buses will instead head straight down Ferensway. However, services heading out of Hull Paragon Interchange will still pick-up passengers, as normal, from city centre bus stops.
Peter Shipp, chairman and chief executive of EYMS, said: "It's been chaotic this morning, with services running 45 minutes or more late. In these circumstances you can't do right for doing wrong, but we hope our decision not to drop-off in the city centre will not cause too much inconvenience. We're hoping this step will get buses back into the station quicker, so we can make-up time and get back on track for the rest of the day."
Network Rail, which is replacing the Spring Bank bridge, says work will not be completed until the new year.
