Eleanor Maslin & Leanne BrownEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
BBCOfficials at Hull City Council (HCC) say they are “quite pleased” with the level of traffic congestion caused by a bridge closure, despite complaints from businesses.
Drypool Bridge was shut on 15 September until November as part of a “major repair and strengthening programme”, HCC said. The A63 Myton Bridge is also closed on several weeknights.
Darren Ingram, who works at welding supply shop BOC Gas & Gear, said: “It’s not going to be good for business at all, people are just not going to come.”
Kerry Ryan, head of transport and traffic management at HCC, said: “We appreciate there’s a lot of inconvenience, we’re quite pleased with the level of congestion that we’re seeing.”
“The congestion is less than what we anticipated,” she added.
Diversions have been put in place to minimise, including a temporary park and ride site on Holderness Road and changes to traffic light timings.
Despite the measures, businesses have expressed concerns about the impact it has had.
Mr Ingram, whose shop is located on Great Union Street, said: “You can add an extra 45-minutes on your journey sometimes coming from one end of the city to another.
“We don’t know how we’re going to cope, especially with our deliveries. It’s going to affect the business in a big way.”
David Dos Santos, from The Big Coffee, also on Great Union Street, shared similar concerns.
He said: “It’s already bad as it is, never mind with the bridge shut.
“We do quite a few deliveries here and there so we’ll probably get stuck in it as well.”
Councillor Mark Ieronimo, portfolio holder for transport and infrastructure at HCC, explained plans put in place to aid congestion.
He said: “They include using AI and our knowledge of how that optimises the traffic signals to keep traffic moving.
“There will also be a temporary bus gate outside the BBC building to allow buses to flow around the city better and encourage more people to travel in by bus.”
He added: “I know it’s frustrating in the short term but there will be long term benefits.”