Map of the closed stretches of Ayres End Lane and East Common in red, east of the A1081 and Harpenden Common, with the signed diversions dashed in blue and orange

PUBLIC INFORMATION NOTICE. Residents are advised that from Monday 26 October, about 415 metres of Ayres End Lane and 400 metres of East Common will close, except for access, while gas mains are replaced. Hertfordshire County Council's traffic order, first reported by the Herts Advertiser, expects the works to take up to 11 weeks. Diversions will be signed. Thank you for your patience.

That's the official bit. Now some of us would like a word.

Map of the closures: a red stretch of Ayres End Lane east of the A1081 and a red stretch of East Common running north-west from it, with the Ayres End Lane diversion dashed in blue via St Albans Road, Walkers Road, Southdown Road, Grove Road and Pipers Lane, and the East Common diversion dashed in orange via the A1081 and Cross Lane
The closures and signed diversions. Positions are approximate, worked out from the distances in the traffic order

This isn't a closure. It's the latest float in a procession. Since April, the council's own traffic orders and the roadworks listings have shut or coned off:

  • Ox Lane and Willoughby Road: two weeks of gas main in April.
  • West Common, Leyton Road, Church Green and Barlings Road: five days in April. West Common, Leyton Road and Barlings Road were closed again this month.
  • Ambrose Lane: eight weeks of gas main from June, and closures are still listed until mid-November.
  • Kinsbourne Green Lane, Townsend Lane, Wells Close and the service road off Lower Luton Road: June, for good measure.
  • Luton Road: two-way lights since late August for 15 weeks of gas main, with a Derwent Road closure saved for the finale.
  • Hyde Close, Coldharbour Lane and Sun Lane: this month, Sun Lane for three days from 28 October.
  • Ayres End Lane: closed for five days from 12 October, reopened, and now closing again for 11 weeks.

That's 17 roads in six months, several of them twice. The Ayres End Lane diversion alone is about 5.5km to get past 415 metres of closed road, via Walkers Road, Southdown Road, Grove Road and Pipers Lane. It's less a detour than a guided tour of AL5.

Help, in theory, is on its way. Matt Cowley, county councillor for Harpenden South West and the Conservatives' shadow cabinet member for highways, has been after "rogue roadworks" since last summer, wanting the work done to the right standard. This month his motion won the promise of a summit with the utility companies. No date has been set. The diggers, it turns out, don't wait for summits.

Tidying up around the edges is all very well, Matt. Some of us would settle for not having the same lane dug up twice in a month.

The Gas Works Cheat Sheet

  • The Roads: Ayres End Lane and East Common, closed except for access.
  • The Dates: From Monday 26 October, for up to 11 weeks.
  • The Why: Gas main replacement.
  • The Way Round: Follow the signed diversions, or leave five minutes earlier and pretend you planned it.