People’s patience with the gyratory roadworks in Maidstone, which seem to have been going on forever, may be wearing thin.

But exasperation has mounted this week with those seeking to avoid the town centre finding their alternative route also hit by roadworks.

Five weeks of delay have started on Farleigh Hill in Tovil, with traffic lights controlling the flow of traffic, while a new footpath is created between Burial Ground Lane and the Tovil Tesco store.

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The construction of the footpath, where previously there was only a grassy bank, is being carried out by contractors for Fernham Homes who are busy building 27 new houses on land on the other side of Burial Ground Lane.

The footpath was a condition imposed by Maidstone council when it granted planning permission back in 2013.

VIDEO: The roadworks have been causing delays for drivers.

But the delay on the B2010 which is used by many drivers from the south of Maidstone who seek to avoid the town centre by crossing the River Medway at either the East Farleigh or Teston bridges has raised eyebrows.

One resident complained on the social media site Streetlife: “Traffic queuing back to East Farleigh. Sick to death of delays and roadworks in Maidstone. Is there no end to this misery?”

When KCC’s project manager Russell Boorman first briefed the town on the gyratory roadworks, he promised there would be no other roadworks allowed on alternative routes at the same time. But that promise seems only to apply to works carried out by KCC itself.

Rebecca Edwards, the public liaison officer for Jacksons, the engineering company carrying out the gyratory project, said: “It is not something within our control.”