WASH Lane motorists are wringing their hands in despair over the partial closure of a main town centre route.

Transco is replacing gas mains along the busy thoroughfare between its junctions with Parsonage Street and Bell Lane, which is closed to traffic heading into the town centre via Moorgate.

However, drivers and residents are baffled over why Bury Council has also closed the entire northbound carriageway, from Rochdale Road to Parsonage Street, despite the lack of roadworks being carried out on that long section.

Work started two weeks ago and one resident Mr Colin Craig described the decision to shut the whole of Wash Lane as "mindless".

He said: "It really beggars belief. Why close a busy main road when there are no road works taking place along the majority of it? To get to my house from the direction of the motorway means a massive detour which sometimes takes up to half an hour during the busy periods.

And fellow resident Mr Michael Gallagher added: "Surely they could have kept Wash Lane open up to its junction with Parsonage Street until the workmen were ready to begin digging up lower sections of the road."

The landlord of the Seven Stars pub, which is at the corner of the Wash Lane and Rochdale Road junction, is considering seeking financial redress for loss of trade.

Mr Les Fuller said: "Since the road was closed trade has dropped quite dramatically. A number of customers, particularly those who live in the Fairfield and Jericho areas, use taxis to get home at the end of the evening but the detours are making the fares totally unacceptable and they are drinking closer to home.

"I am considering seeking compensation from either Bury Council or Transco if trade suffers any more."

The disruption is caused by the replacement of a major gas main by Transco and the start of the works was been timed to coincide with the school holidays in order to lessen the congestion. The council will be following on with full carriageway and footway resurfacing between Parsonage Street and Moorgate.

Work is expected to take 17 weeks to complete.

However, Mr Ian Lord, of Bury Council's Traffic Management Unit said work on the middle section of Wash Lane, from Parsonage Street to its junction with Willow Street, will start imminently.

He said: "The complete closure of Wash Lane is not ideal but it was the simplest and safest course of action to facilitate the gas mains repair work, as well as our resurfacing scheme.

"The congestion caused, particularly along Rochdale Road, is no worse than it normally is as people have got used to the new one way system. We are sorry for the inconvenience."