HEYBRIDGE residents were left frustrated following a weekend of roadworks in the town with many main roads being closed.

Resurfacing works were carried out over a weekend in August where several main roads including Wood Road, Oak Road and Scraley Road were closed overnight.

However, some residents stated that the roads were still closed in the mornings which disrupted bus routes into Maldon, forcing drivers to head back to Great Totham.

Liz Chipman, who lives in Heybridge, said: “Those four days over that weekend were so poorly done by Essex Highways. They shut off Colchester Road completely on Thursday when there was voting going on in Plantation Hall for a parish council election.

“They shut all of Oak Road, Wood Road and Scraley Road on Friday from 8pm and it was still closed on Saturday morning at 9am, when buses were trying to get into the town.

“In the area that was closed off on Saturday night no work got done, it was a complete disgrace.

“I can’t believe some people got paid for this, it should have been done in staggered stages.”

Fellow Heybridge resident Merryl Quilter said: “From what people have been saying it sounds like the whole area was very poorly signed, it didn’t seem clear which roads would lead where and what areas were shut off.

“The number of roads said to be closed also seemed huge for one sitting. I think to avoid this situation again in the future, the area they shut off should be nowhere near as big.”

A spokesman for Essex Highways said: “Work, which was completed over the weekend, was carried out to resurface these roads. Our crews worked at night and over the weekend to ensure any disruption was kept to a minimum.”