Drivers face long delays as two lanes reduced to one near Skippool roundabout as work continues on A585 Windy Harbour project

National Highways recently increased the size of the roundabout at Skippool to allow for a larger working area.

This meant they could safely construct the new junction within the roundabout, as well as completer outer work in the verges.

But due to limited room at the junction of Skippool roundabout and Mains Lane, the agency said it was “unsafe to run traffic on two lanes”.

“Once work in the verges is complete, we will look to increase the capacity of the junction to help ease the traffic congestion that you are experiencing,” a spokesman for National

Highways said.

“We anticipate that this will be by mid-October.

“We understand that the disruption to motorists and residents is frustrating and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Motorists on Wednesday (September 21) subsequently faced severe delays, with congestion backing up to Garstang New Road near Little Singleton.

The problem was reportedly exacerbated by a problem with the timing of the traffic lights near Shard Road.

A spokesman added: “We have received a number of comments relating to the timing of traffic lights at Shard junction.

“We have instructed our maintenance team to inspect the traffic loops and undertake traffic counts at both peak and off-peak times.

“Once we have this information we will make changes to improve the flow of traffic at this location.”

Residents were quick to point out that the congestion at Skippool roundabout was not helping the situation.

“The lights are currently letting around three cars through at Shard Bridge due to the back up in traffic from the main road,” one said.

“It’s currently taking me almost an hour for a school run to get from Hambleton which would normally take 12 minutes.”

Another added: “It’s not the lights, it’s the total waste of money bypass and it's roadworks, especially at the Skippool junction that is causing it.”

The A585 Windy Harbour project is a £150m scheme which aims to improve traffic flow and safety on the busy A585 from Fleetwood to the M55 junction at Kirkham.

It is due to be completed this coming Spring.