'The whole of Teesside was in total gridlock': Drivers' frustrations after traffic light fault causes tailbacks

Drivers faced major delays as a result of problems with temporary traffic lights in an area of ongoing roadworks.

Lengthy queues built on the A174 Parkway this morning after the lights on the A19 interchange roundabout became out of sync - resulting in only a few cars being let through at a time.

As a result, some people choose to reverse up sliproads to avoid the problem - prompting Cleveland Police to issue a warning.

“Driving in the wrong direction on sliproads is highly dangerous, can cause serious collisions and is problematic for officers who may be on scene,” said a spokeswoman for the force.

“Please be patient in queues of traffic and check travel news before setting off on your journey. This could prevent you being stuck in a queue of traffic.”

Ron Harker, 62, of Marton, told The Gazette this has been a problem he has faced on several occasions.

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Ron, who works in Darlington and has made the same commute to and from work for 41 years, said: “This is the third or fourth time this has happened in recent months while the roadworks have been there.

“The whole of Teesside is in total gridlock. The problem is the lights on the junction were incorrectly timed.

“The cost to businesses is phenomenal, someone should be held accountable.”

He added: “This journey is generally good, but for the same simple problem to happen time and again, then to be left overnight without correction, is unacceptable.”

Another commuter told The Gazette he had been sat in the traffic for over an hour this morning.

“It’s terrible traffic backed right past Coulby and Hemlington,” he said.

Traffic on Acklam Road heading towards Middlesbrough was also backed up as a result.

“I’ve bailed down Acklam Road, it’s backed up there too,” said one Teessider.

The temporary traffic lights are in place as a result of ongoing work to increase the capacity of the A19/A174 Parkway Interchange.

Middlesbrough Council says the improvement works are expected to run until March.

The Gazette has asked for a comment from the Highways Agency, which is leading on the delivery of the improvement works.