A RESTAURANT owner says he is relieved major roadworks at a junction on his doorstep have been completed after going through ‘two years of hell’.

Aldo DeVittoris, owner of Aldo’s Italian, Harrogate Road, Greengates, says he had to contend with the double whammy of Covid restrictions and overrunning works at the Greengates Junction for almost two years.

The newly-improved junction, where New Line and Harrogate Road meet, has undergone a major transformation in the past 22 months and were completed last month.

Bradford Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority teamed up on the project, which saw work start in July 2020.

The scheme was originally budgeted for £8.7 million, which increased to £13.75m due to delays because of the pandemic and unearthing uncharted pipes.

Mr DeVittoris says the ongoing junction works made the area resemble a building site with customers stuck in traffic on the way to the restaurant and facing long delays to get there. Despite his frustrations while work was being carried out, Mr DeVittoris praised the completed job.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: The completed Greengates Junction, which opened after 22 months of work last monthThe completed Greengates Junction, which opened after 22 months of work last month

He said: “We have been through two years of hell.

We have had two years of being on a building site. It was almost like a nightmare

“The last five weeks of it, when they were tarmacking between 9pm and 6am each night, was when it was at its worst. One night, at 6.30pm, we only had two customers in the restaurant, because people could not get here.

“I rejoiced and am so happy they have finished doing it now. It’s a big, big plus.

“They have done a fantastic job, but it has taken a long time. I look out of my window and think ‘I can’t believe it actually works’.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: From left, Matthew Teal, Aldo’s Italian restaurant manager, and Aldo DeVittoris, owner, at the now-opened Greengates junction From left, Matthew Teal, Aldo’s Italian restaurant manager, and Aldo DeVittoris, owner, at the now-opened Greengates junction

“People have said to me ‘how have you survived?’ We’ve been through two years of Covid and the junction work and we’ve not gone bust.

“The last few days the customers have come back.

“We’re still here and still going strong. We’ve been here when we have had the junction work and through Covid and we’re still firing on all cylinders.

“The junction works and it’s good for everyone living around here.”

The project was originally due to be completed by October last year, but that was pushed back to this spring, with it fully opening on May 31 this year.

Motorists constantly complained about the gridlock the ongoing work caused, with congestion peaking when a five-way traffic light system was employed last summer.

Read more: Why roadworks will begin again on Monday, June 13.