W1 road dug up 92 times in a year

Every Londoner knows that driving along Tottenham Court Road involves braving hordes of shoppers as well as endless traffic congestion.

So it will come as little surprise to learn that the road has been dug up 92 times in the past year. This means that workmen have carried out roadworks on Tottenham Court Road more than seven times every month since last September.

Motoring organisations, which have long campaigned for more stringent rules to monitor and co-ordinate roadworks in the capital, say the figure is "unacceptable".

RAC Foundation spokesman Jonathan Simpson said: "This is a classic example of how local authorities and utility companies are not coordinating their work. It is a completely unacceptable level of work.

"It's particularly astonishing because it's one of the main arterial routes from the North and North-East into central London. I pity anyone who has to get a bus down there to get to work every day."

The roadworks have been undertaken by a variety of utility companies as well as Camden council and Transport for London (TfL). The street is currently being dug up at the junction with Torrington Place as part of TfL's London Bus Initiative and London Cycle Network projects.

The latest works, which started more than three weeks ago and will not finish until 23 November, have caused traffic chaos following the temporary closure of one of its two lanes during rush hour. However, Camden council claimed that emergency repairs make it difficult to co-ordinate street works. A spokesman said: "Some of the works may only last one or two days, although we do acknowledge that even one day's roadworks can cause one day's disruption."

Utility companies, meanwhile, claim they only carry out "essential" work. Irene Elsom, coordinator of the National Joint Utilities Group which represents more than 95 per cent of utilities, said: "We can't speak for highway authorities, developers and others, who conduct half of all street works, but all utility works in Tottenham Court Road were essential to maintain infrastructure and meet customer demands for new services."

Despite the number of roadworks in Tottenham Court Road, Camden is at the forefront of the city-wide clampdown on holes in the road. Last August, it became one of the first London boroughs to enforce new legislation allowing local authorities to issue fines to utility companies that miss agreed deadlines for finishing their work. This has resulted in fines totalling more than £1 million across the capital.

The borough will also become the first to launch the more radical pilot lane rental scheme early next year, in which companies will pay up to £500 a day for the duration of the roadworks they carry out.