BUSINESS owners on Cleethorpes seafront fear their trade is going to be "devastated" over the peak summer period as tourists shun the resort because of disruption on the M180.
Meanwhile, haulage firms are also counting the cost of the road closures – with one telling the Grimsby Telegraph he was tempted to tell all his drivers to take a holiday for the next five weeks.
As reported in yesterday's Telegraph, the eastbound carriageway of the motorway will be closed to all traffic between Junction 2 for Epworth and Crowle and Junction 3 for Scunthorpe West until Monday morning to allow for major resurfacing work to take place.
The closures resulted in severe delays for motorists with the A18 – which is being used as an alternative route – becoming gridlocked.
And the disruption is set to continue for several weeks, with a series of overnight closures on the westbound carriageway taking place until Thursday, August 28.
However, Highways bosses yesterday announced that one lane would open at 6am today in a bid to ease the problem.
Chris Holehouse, of the Highways Agency, said the programme of work was being altered in a bid to get traffic moving again sooner.
He said: "I am very sorry for the long delays experienced over the past two days.
"My team are revising the schedule to allow us to accelerate the construction work, which will enable us to open one lane of the eastbound M180 by 6am on Friday.
"I acknowledge that these closures have been very disruptive to drivers and residents and that the routes around the closure have been heavily congested."
Yesterday, traders said Cleethorpes was much quieter than would normally be the case on such a sunny day in the middle of the school holidays.
Owen Taylor, owner of Taylor Made Fun amusement arcade, said: "We have definitely seen a lack of trade in the resort. The Highways Agency says it needs warm weather to do the work but what's wrong with September? July and August is our peak time and the window of the season is pretty short.
"There's a diversion in place but who's going to add four hours to their journey to get here? People will just go somewhere else and the worry is they might not come back. We could see the effect of this next year as well."
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Melanie Wood, director of Pleasure Island, said the impact on the business has been so severe that she will be calling on MPs and central government for answers.
She added: "We have seen a dramatic fall in the business over the past two days because 90 per cent of our trade comes from south Yorkshire.
"We spend thousands trying to get people to us and now they can't get to us because of roadworks.
"We've had people calling us from the traffic jam saying they are turning around and groups who have pre-paid demanding refunds.
"It is absolutely disgusting that this could be allowed to happen during August.
"We have six weeks each July and August to make money and now one of those has been taken away from us. I want some recognition for the problems this has caused us and compensation for the lack of earnings. I'm not just talking for Pleasure Island but on behalf of Cleethorpes."
Valerie Armstrong, owner of Valerie's Italian on Kingsway, said: "This is just extremely disappointing for the resort as a whole and people will feel terribly let down. September would be the time for these major road works when the children have returned to school. Cleethorpes has an influx of holiday makers during July and August and relies on that trade, especially in this good weather."
Terry Proctor, who owns three ice cream parlours and two crazy golf courses on the sea front, said: "It could be devastating. From a business point of view we are concerned. We have already seen a downturn and we have heard some horror stories from customers."
Andy McCluskey, owner of the Kingsway Kiosks, said: "You can understand why people would choose to go elsewhere when it is taking them four hours. It is very frustrating."
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