After hearing numerous complaints, we decided to visit and assess the situation first-hand
In recent years, a busy roundabout in Merseyside has been described as a “complete nightmare.” However, after just a few weeks into a major roadworks project, both motorists and local residents have referred to the current situation as a source of “constant misery.”
Tarbock Island is one of the region’s busiest transport routes, connecting Knowsley to Liverpool city centre and serving as a main access point to the M62. Congestion issues have become common, leading ECHO readers to vote Tarbock Island as one of the most disliked roundabouts in Merseyside.
Fortunately, the congestion problems have not gone unnoticed. Earlier this year, Knowsley Council’s cabinet approved a £12.42 million grant funding agreement with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to upgrade the borough’s road networks. The project aims to increase capacity at Tarbock Island by widening the number of running lanes and slip roads leading to the roundabout.
However, with redevelopment works already in progress, it appears there will be increased disruption for local residents and longer delays for motorists, at least in the short term. This frustration has been voiced on social media, where many people have been sharing their grievances.
Underneath a post on Knowsley Council’s Facebook page, detailing the scope of the roadworks in Huyton, Victoria Kelly wrote: “I live off Tarbock Island and it has been hell for us all around here.” Pauline Buxton added: “[We have a] lack of enjoyment of our homes due to constant stream of traffic and noise going past.”
Carol Kennedy also commented about the amount of roadworks in Huyton, she wrote: “An absolute shambles, the area is constantly gridlocked due to poor planning and lack of traffic control. The amount of chaos caused far outweighs the so called planned improvements.”
Some people’s posts wondered about the timescales of the roadworks, with Helen Whitehead adding: “How much longer are we all going to suffer.” Whilst Andrew Jones said: “You’re meant to work for local residents, not cause misery for them.”
A spokesperson for Knowsley Council said: “We understand people’s frustration at the current disruption and delays being experienced in and around Tarbock Island.
“We are doing all we can to reduce congestion, scheduling the work to minimise delays and communicating the plans and updates regularly to allow people to plan their journeys.”
After hearing numerous complaints, we decided to visit Tarbock Island to assess the situation first-hand. As we parked on Juniper Avenue, the first thing we noticed was the noise from the roundabout.
It was evening rush hour, so the noise was at its peak. However, with a new housing development just off the junction, it was clear that any increase in congestion would negatively impact nearby residents. As we walked toward the roundabout, we observed that traffic was moving slowly and was noticeably backed up on the slip road from the M57, as well as along Cronton Road.
I counted a four-minute walk to the start of the traffic congestion at the A5080 corner, which extended back along Cronton Road, past Wilson Road and the Esso garage. On the roundabout itself, cars began to queue as they came off the Knowsley Expressway, leading to gridlock at the A5080 as vehicles attempted to exit from that direction.
The flow of traffic around the junction onto the M62 was hindered by the merging of cars coming onto the roundabout from different points, but we did not witness any wait times exceeding five to seven minutes.
There was also admirable patience shown by motorists as queues mounted up – especially when it wasn’t possible to run through the green light. Nonetheless, it’s clearly a challenging situation and one which would cause annoyance to even the calmest of drivers.
Although inconvenient, the aim of the roadworks project is to solve the congestion at Tarbock Island and we will only see the success of this endeavour when the development is complete. A spokesperson from Knowsley Council added: “Unfortunately Tarbock Island is one of the busiest roundabouts in the region and has been operating at its maximum capacity for some time. Therefore these current works are essential to ensure the roundabout can cope with traffic flow in the future.
“Unfortunately this does mean that any work there will be disruptive but this is unavoidable as we do need to invest in our road network and at major junctions like this. We continue to monitor the work and will ensure that we take all steps possible to reduce the impact for road users and local residents.