A CLASH over how work to improve a junction near St Albans City Station should be carried out has resulted in a delay of more than a year. Part of Linden Home s planning permission to build more than 360 flats next to the station was that they widen Stati

A CLASH over how work to improve a junction near St Albans City Station should be carried out has resulted in a delay of more than a year.

Part of Linden Home's planning permission to build more than 360 flats next to the station was that they widen Station Way's junction with Hatfield Road, which can be a rush-hour bottleneck for traffic.

They started improving the traffic-light junction in 2007 but discontinued the work because Herts Highways disagreed with them over how to support the widened road.

While Herts Highways insisted that a new retaining wall was required, Linden Homes said that the work could be done without the need for one.

Project manager of the development, Russell Elson, said that Herts Highways had now agreed that a new retaining wall was not required and that they were waiting for formal technical approval from County Hall.

He said the work would go ahead in the New Year despite the credit crunch.

But a spokesperson for Herts Highways said that the highway did need to be supported by a retaining wall and that before the work could proceed they needed to give formal structural approval.

He added: "There have been some discussions over the design - which have taken longer than expected - and both parties are now agreed that the proposed structure is safe and can go ahead, subject to formal confirmation by letter."

The spokesperson said the work would take around six to eight weeks.