The supermarket saga of a city retail park took a fresh twist when rush hour gridlock was caused by work ahead of the new store opening.

Aldi is set to open in William Frost Way in the Longwater Retail Park in Costessey on Thursday (July 6) - but has been criticised for not installing a new pedestrian crossing that was part of planning permission.

Work on the road and pavement near the new supermarket has started but was supposed to be carried out overnight.

However, resurfacing work began at 3pm on Monday, causing queues of up to an hour in the area and major congestion in the nearby Queen's Hills estate.

READ MORE: Aldi kerb in William Frost Way a huge danger for commuters

Norwich Evening News: Photographs of the chaos were coming in thick and fast on social media as people were stuck Photographs of the chaos were coming in thick and fast on social media as people were stuck (Image: Submitted)

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Town councillor Gary Blundell said: “Honestly, in my opinion, it was a joke.

“People missed appointments, and children missed clubs with some people being late for work.  

“They [the roadworks] had a financial impact on people and even delayed blue light emergency services. 

“After being assured that work would be done over the night over three days, doing works at 3pm - which is school finish time and rush hour - is not acceptable. 

“Neighbours were angry, people were queuing for over an hour to get out of the estate.” 

Photos poured into the local Facebook group of people at various points in the queue as people waited for the congestion to clear.

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Norwich Evening News: Some folk waited in the traffic for more than an hour Some folk waited in the traffic for more than an hour (Image: Submitted)

An Aldi spokesman said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused due to construction at our William Frost Way store.  

“We have spoken to our contractors on-site to reaffirm that any remaining highway or roadwork work is completed at night to avoid further disruption.” 

Aldi has previously said it intends to make significant financial contributions to the pedestrian crossing, in conjunction with house builder Persimmon, but the lack of progress has been criticised by local councils.