COMMUTER’S VIEWPOINT

News that a £1.3 billion chunk of vital infrastructure is to partially shut just a few months after its grand opening will cause fresh frustration, and anger, among commuters.

Motorists can only pray that the “snagging works” don’t run on, or throw up anything more disruptive. Since the bridge’s opening, and the recent raising of the limit to 50mph from 40mph, traffic volumes and journey times have been erratic. Replacing a two-lane bridge with another two-lane bridge was never going to speed things up. Opening up the third, hard-shoulder lane to live traffic would surely ease peak-time congestion and obviate the need to hike the limit to 70mph.