When will it end? Summer of discontent for Stafford as road chaos continues

Weston Road will only be open one way for nine weeks during the summer holidays, while Blackheath Lane will be closed next month.

But there is good news for motorists, with the summer closure set to be the last part of the mammoth project which has seen Severn Trent digging up the town since 2014.

Bosses now say the project is 80 per cent done, with work on Weston Road in the summer and Blackheath Lane next month the last parts to be completed.

Gareth Mead, one of the community managers at Severn Trent who has overseen the project, said: "We have completed the majority of the water pipe work. We have got a small amount of work left to do on Queensville Island and Baswich Island, they do not need traffic lights with the work at the side of the road and we should be done in the next couple of weeks. We have got small bits of tidying up work and connection work to do along the way. The major stuff is out the way now.

"The next phases of work are Blackheath Lane in May which will be a road closure and Weston Road in the School summer Holidays which will be nine weeks one way.

"The reason it is in the summer holidays is that we have liaised closely with the County Showground and they have a number of events that are really important for Stafford and we are going to wait for those events to finish before we start our work."

Severn Trent say they will release details of the upcoming work next week, but according to roadworks.org work will begin on Weston Road on June 13, with diversions in place from June 6. Drivers will be able to use Weston Road to exit Stafford but those looking to use the inbound carriage will need to follow diversion signs.

Blackheath Lane will be closed from the junction with Tixall Road to the junction with Weston Road from May 16 to June 13.

Mr Mead added: "We understand that the work has been disruptive, it is a huge project for Stafford, but without the new pipes Stafford is not going to be able to grow and prosper in the future. If you want new homes, new businesses, you need the infrastructure. It is almost short-term high intensity work for a longer term benefit.

"We want to thank people in Stafford for bearing with us, it has been vital work and we are almost there. We have a couple of months work left to do. We want to thank motorists and our customers in Stafford for their patience and the wait till be well worth it. There is light at the end of the tunnel."