Gipsy Patch Lane closure led to 40% drop for tyre business

The railway bridge is due to be demolished and replaced next year

A business next to a road that was closed to start work for a Metrobus extension said takings dropped 40% during the work.

Gipsy Patch Lane - north of Bristol - was shut for about a month. The route is a major link road between the A38 and Little Stoke and Stoke Gifford.

The preparatory work from BT was needed ahead of work for the Cribbs Causeway -Patchway Metrobus extension.

That will see the existing railway bridge removed and replaced.

The work is due to take eight months in 2020 and will see the road widened from two narrow lanes to four wide lanes, including two bus lanes.

It was closed for four weeks but contractors were unable to finish the work after other live utility pipes and cables were found. The work will now be completed during next year's closure.

The road is alongside major employers such as Rolls Royce, Airbus and GKN.

Local business Tyres Direct, which is based next to the bridge, said the closure led to a 40% drop in takings while commuters complained of "traffic chaos".

An Openreach spokesman said: "We'd like to thank the people of the local area for bearing with us ... and we apologise for the traffic delays."

Commuter Lisa Bennett said: "The traffic has been awful trying to get out of Patchway/Coniston Road into A38/Little Stoke Lane in the mornings.

"Hopefully you have a better plan for the forthcoming extended closure period?"

Lisa Gregor added: "It has been gridlocked so please plan something much better for the long closure in 2020," she said.