Nottinghamshire residents say the only way to solve traffic woes is with a fourth crossing over the River Trent.
Nottinghamshire County Council and its highways firm, Via, will be carrying out work on its long-planned A614/A6097 scheme to improve the route between Ollerton and Lowdham.
In Lowdham, the roundabout is being widened, including three approach lanes on the A612 Nottingham Road, and a 30mph speed limit on approach.
It is one of five junction upgrades along the road corridor, and work will begin in August and run until September 2027.
An event to discuss the scheme was held in Lowdham on Tuesday (June 2), during which residents, business owners and farmers shared their views.
A majority of people we spoke to suggested the only tangible way to solve village traffic woes was to build a fourth road crossing over the River Trent at Colwick.
Paul Harrison, the chairman of Lowdham Parish Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The A6097 and A614 corridor is something Nottinghamshire County Council has been on about for years, on the basis that it opens up the possibility of developing further commercial and residential opportunities, particularly towards Ollerton, Mansfield, Rainworth, and Blidworth.
“The problem we see here is that the improvement to the roundabout is going to be a marginal gain, and in the scheme of things, is not a big cog.
“In terms of the gain, it will improve the flows at the roundabout, but that seems to many of the people to move the queue from Nottingham Road towards the roundabout, around it, and down onto Gunthorpe Road.
“The bottleneck then becomes the bridge. Many people have suggested one of the big improvements that could be made is to build another bridge, but that is one for politicians who have got bigger budgets than Lowdham Parish Council has.”
Gary Clarke, an arable farmer in the area, said: “It is a complete waste of money. All they are getting is people around the roundabout quicker, only to be stuck at Gunthorpe Bridge.
“My concerns are with the traffic while they are doing it. There is farm traffic all summer. We have the maize harvest from the middle of September to November. I’m thinking about the logistics.
“We think the money would be better invested in a fourth crossing at Colwick.”
Villager of 26 years, Diana Hobson, said: “The plans are going to go on for a year and cause a lot of disruption, and they are only actually going to benefit traffic going one way, the traffic coming from Burton Joyce
“I cannot see that it is going to be much of a benefit for anybody else. I got the bus quite regularly into Nottingham, and I can see the bus is going to be massively diverted.”
Simon Clarke, head of strategic project delivery, was at the event to talk visitors through the plans.
He said: Any project for a fourth road bridge would have to come from higher up, but he said he hoped the smaller-scale projects would help “make everybody’s life better”.
The five key junctions being improved under the £47 million scheme are Ollerton roundabout, White Post roundabout, Warren Hill, Lowdham roundabout, and Kirk Hill at East Bridgford.
