What a difference a day makes: A690 clear of jams after lane closure leaves Monday commuters queuing for miles

A major Sunderland route is in the clear just a day after thousands of drivers found themselves stuck in a traffic jam due to lane restrictions.
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Sunderland City Council put restrictions in place on the A690 Durham Road at Stony Gate yesterday morning, Monday, October 21, as it launched a week-long assessment ahead of roadworks at the roundabout leading on to the A19 at Doxford Park.

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Traffic was left queuing back to Rainton Bridge and caused delays of around 30 minutes for motorists.

A still from the @NELiveTraffic network of cameras earlier today showing traffic heading along the A690 towards the A19 at Stony Gate.A still from the @NELiveTraffic network of cameras earlier today showing traffic heading along the A690 towards the A19 at Stony Gate.
A still from the @NELiveTraffic network of cameras earlier today showing traffic heading along the A690 towards the A19 at Stony Gate.
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But today, vehicles have been moving freely on the route heading towards Sunderland, with no lane closure in place close to the junction with High Lane, which leads to Newbottle.

However, traffic maps show a build-up of vehicles on the A183 at Burnmoor and heading past Weymouth Drive and towards the A182 Washington Highway.

The council had warned people the restrictions would last all week ahead of roadworks which aim to improve the A690/A19 roundabout.

In the wake of yesterday’s delays, cabinet member for environment and transport, Councillor Amy Wilson, said: “The scheduled lane closures are part of preparatory work for road improvements which will add an extra lane on these stretches of road.

Photos shared by @NELiveTraffic showing the traffic which had backed up on the A690 towards Sunderland on the morning of Monday, October 21, as restrictions were put in place by Sunderland City Council.Photos shared by @NELiveTraffic showing the traffic which had backed up on the A690 towards Sunderland on the morning of Monday, October 21, as restrictions were put in place by Sunderland City Council.
Photos shared by @NELiveTraffic showing the traffic which had backed up on the A690 towards Sunderland on the morning of Monday, October 21, as restrictions were put in place by Sunderland City Council.
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“We appreciate motorists’ frustration and will continue to do all we can to minimise disruption, and the traffic flow data collected on the first day of the work will help us in that continual process.

“Advance notice of the work was signposted on the affected roads, and communicated to businesses on Doxford International Business Park to share with their staff about the temporary lane closures on this stretch of the road.

“Engineers will be on-site all week to monitor the traffic flow throughout, so we can plan for the longer-term closures which will have to be put in place before the major improvement work begins.”

However, people were still caught out by the lane closure, leading to complaints about the delays.