Each weekend, the closures are taking place from 20:00 GMT on the Friday night to 05:00 on the Monday morning.
During the day, vehicles travelling southbound are being diverted on the A66 through the Eden Valley. Northbound traffic and all overnight traffic is using the A6 through villages like Shap.
Mr Walker, who frequently travels from Staffordshire to Glasgow to see his grandchildren, was taken on the diversion on Friday night having caught a lift with friends when his train back was cancelled.
“They’re trying to put modern traffic through what’s basically a 1950s route, creating quite a potentially dangerous situation,” he said.
