CONCERNS have been raised over disruption after roadworks on a pair of lynchpin junctions started on Sunday causing traffic chaos.

Residents of Halstead were concerned following the closure of a section of Head Street on Sunday morning for a utility company to conduct essential electrical work.

The section of Head Street, between the two mini-roundabouts which connect the road with Colchester Road and Hedingham Road, connects High Street with the rest of Head Street and Sudbury Road.

Traffic is believed to have been heavily disrupted with drivers queuing up Sudbury Road.

Residents were forced to find their way round, using Mallows Field and Parsonage Street for alternative routes.

It is believed there were a couple of bumps and scrapes as the traffic flowed down the narrow streets.

The work on the road began on Sunday at around 8am and reopened at around 11pm the same day.

The road was closed again on Monday at around 4pm with residents commenting on social media saying they expected ‘mayhem’ the next day.

However, by around 10pm, workmen on the road packed up and reopened the road.

It is believed the brunt of the repairs were completed by Monday 31 August September.

Essex Highways has said the works will be completed once the necessary electrical repairs are finished.

The permit of for the works runs until Monday 7 September but it is hoped they will be completed sooner.

Work will then take place to restore the road surface to a good standard with Essex Highways insisting this part of the work should take place during off-peak hours.

However, this will depend on a negotiation between them and the utility company and will ultimately depend on the extent of the work required.

Some residents also complained on social media that they were given little to no advanced warning of the roadworks.

Essex Highways have stated the repairs are an emergency so advanced notice wasn’t possible although some Facebook commenters said they has seen road signs warning of the road closure on routes to Halstead from Braintree and Earls Colne.

An Essex Highways spokesperson, said: “These were emergency repairs to fix the mains, so no advance notice is possible.

“The site should be cleared as soon as the work is done.

“Our inspector will visit the site urgently and we hope to minimise the impact of the works by ensuring that the permanent reinstatement of the road surface is done after peak travel hours.”

“The permit for the works runs until September 7, but we expect works to finish as soon as the repairs are made.

“As soon as that is all done, we hope to keep the road open during peak travel times with reinstatement work outside those hours.”