Road blamed for trade slump

Motorists face queues at the end of a new stretch of dual carriageway

Businesses near the new A46 dual-carriageway between Newark and Lincoln claim their trade is suffering.

The Newark Air Museum is among those blaming on-going road works for the down-turn.

The £28m scheme to create eight miles of dual carriageway between Newark and Lincoln finished on schedule in July.

Many people were predicting economic benefits to both Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire as a result of the new stretch of road.

'Speeding along'

Work on the Winthorpe roundabout where the A46 joins the A1 and the A17 involves constantly changing lane closures.

Tailbacks of several miles have been reported on the new road.

Businesses say their trade has been affected, with the nearby air museum seeing a recent decrease in visitor numbers.

Lois Blackmore from the attraction said: "Everyone is using the new A46 coming out of Lincoln and speeding along the new dual carriageway.

"They are not used to it and all the traffic comes screeching to a halt at the Winthorpe Island due to the road works."

Visitor numbers have dropped particularly since nearby Drove Lane was closed.

The work is set to continue for several months.

Short term

The Highways Agency which is responsible for the work said the short term delays will be outweighed by the benefits when work is completed in three weeks time.

Route Manager for the organisation, Adrian Slack told the BBC: "I can understand the frustration of motorists but try and put up with the delays.

"We have tried to be flexible about lane closures.

"The motorists will appreciate the benefits when they are finished."