Residents of a road in Southampton have told of the worst traffic in 50 years as a result of the Bitterne Road East closure.

Bitterne Road East has been shut to drivers since last Monday for Southampton City Council roadworks – which will last for seven weeks overall.

The council has said the scheme will improve the road surface as well as adding more crossings and a cycle lane.

But residents in other roads in Southampton say the disruption caused by the closure has turned a quiet road into a ‘disaster’.

(Image: NQ) Resident of Upper Deacon Road for 47-years, Jan Smith, said that in all the time she had lived there, traffic had never been so bad.

She said: “Usually we have a steady flow of cars through here – now there isn’t much time when the traffic is not at a standstill.

“Seven weeks is a long time – I really hope that this is the last closure of this length we have to deal with.

“Just trying to get in and out of our driveways has become a nightmare – I'm really worried about motorbikes and e-scooters.

“When a driver stops to let you reverse you cannot see motorcyclists as they come down the road.

“Evening, trying to get on my drive I have had to put up with horn blasting and angry drivers.”

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The Department for Transport’s Active Travel Fund is financing the Bitterne Road East upgrades, which include better road surfaces, a new crossing, a cycle link, and a 20mph speed limit in certain areas.

(Image: NQ) Upper Deacon Road resident of 39 years, Janet Figgins, added: “It has been a nightmare.

“One minute you look outside and the road is empty, the next traffic has completely filled the whole road.

“The traffic we are facing at the moment is just unprecedented – we have never seen anything like it in all the time we have lived here.

“My goodness - when someone gets a shopping delivery from Tesco or Sainsburys both sides of the road become blocked.”

Another Upper Deacon Road resident of 21-years, who wanted to remain unnamed, said it took her around 25 minutes to travel less than a mile stretch of Upper Deacon road.