Bristol has come grinding to a halt this week. Traffic light failure was to blame for some of the worst congestion the city has seen for years.

But it wasn’t helped by a massive schedule of roadworks currently underway in the city centre, thanks to major projects like the MetroBus in the city centre and creating what will become Arena Island near Temple Meads which has seen Cattle Market Road closed since summer 2014.

Throw on top of that emergency repairs to Prince Street Bridge, the Christmas shopping rush and temporary lights on major routes like Bath Road and Long Ashton Bypass, then you have the kind of meltdown which saw people sitting on buses for one hour just to travel the distance of one stop.

Abandon your cars, people. #Bristol is broken. #bristoltraffic pic.twitter.com/EQP2ZijiYo

— PrincessPurling (@StarlingOne) December 8, 2015

But behind this catastrophic perfect storm, Bristol’s record on congestion is pretty poor anyway, with some of the slowest traffic speeds in the UK outside of London, according to the DfT. One bus company boss has gone on record to say the current situation is the “worst in recent memory”.

The chaos this week started on Tuesday night when the system which links traffic lights in the city packed in. Wednesday morning rush hour traffic was also affected. Delays on Wednesday were set to be compounded by an anti-war demonstration due to start at 5.30pm at the city centre fountains and head up Park Street, around the Clifton Triangle and back again.

But traffic was already at crawling speeds during rush hours thanks to stop and start roadworks causing major delays.

This interactive map shows just how swamped the city currently is with roadworks (click over the dark blue box to make it disappear):

Cattle Market Road, which travels under Temple Meads, has been causing tailbacks all year while access to Arena Island is secured through a new bridge. The road was supposed to be reopened in December, but has now been delayed until next August.

Prince Street Bridge has added to the congestion since it was closed for repairs after heavy corrosion was discovered. Originally due to reopen in April 2016, it has now been put back until at least July, with some fearing the council are preparing for a permanent closure.

Temporary lights have been in place on Bath Road for weeks as utilities are redirected into a massive new development at the Paintworks.

Adding to the mix is the various changes being made for the new Metrobus. Among the most significant developments are a new road through the city centre to be completed in January 2017 and an upgrade to Ashton Avenue Bridge in Southville which will last until next autumn.

The South Bristol Link, due to be completed in 2017, is also causing delays on A370 Long Ashton Bypass and the A38 Bridgewater Road.

#bristoltraffic Tonight you are really spoiling us. Red, red red. pic.twitter.com/GBTf9gYvdY

— Caroline (@misschickapea) December 8, 2015

In a recent comment to Bristol24/7, the council’s planning boss Peter Mann said: “While there may be some short term inconvenience, all the works currently taking place in the city will provide long term benefits by making the highway network more resilient.”

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol about this week’s traffic chaos caused by the broken lights, the city’s transport manager David Bunting said: “We can’t stop vehicles coming into Bristol and we can’t create road space – we have to try and manage it as best we can.”

Mayor George Ferguson has also insisted that his flagship controlled parking policy is having an impact on reducing congestion. First Bus even reported a rise in passengers by 70,000 per week in 2014 after they introduced lower fares.

 

Bristol traffic is f@cked again. At least this driver has a sense of humour. #bristoltraffic #Bristol #traffic #bus #buses

A photo posted by Matt ???????????????????????? (@mr_akina) on Dec 8, 2015 at 11:47am PST

Major inner-city rail link improvements are supposed to help alleviate traffic further with new lines and stations opening in Horfield, Ashley Down, Henbury, Pill and Portishead by 2021.

It is hoped that ongoing improvements to the cycle network will also help, with new lanes expected in and around the city centre gyratory, on Clarence Road and along Feeder Road – feeding into the arena and the massive new Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.

But if it looks as though Bristol is playing catch up with transport, this is just the beginning. Bristol’s population of about 420,00 is set to grow by another 100,000 in 20 years, with 85,000 new homes needed in and around the city:

For now though “many of Bristol’s roads literally can’t be any busier”, says Martin Garrett, chairman of Transport for Greater Bristol pressure group. He adds:

“It only needs one small problem to tip things over the edge into gridlock. Christmas shopping creates more traffic, as do traffic light failures and roadworks, but the real problem is permanent: Bristol’s roads can’t cope with the number of cars that are driven on them because there are so few alternatives for getting around.”