Commuters face massive delays in Aberdeen today after a burst water main left a gaping hole in a busy city thoroughfare.
Police were forced to close a section of West Tullos Road and King George VI bridge, after water gushed on to both carriageways following the leak which happened at around 9.30pm on Friday night.
Last night, the westbound carriageway remained closed, from the roundabout at Abbotswell Road down to the junction with Great Southern Road.
The eastbound carriageway was passable but was down to one lane.
A spokesman for Scottish Water, which is responsible for carrying out permanent repairs to the underground water pipe, confirmed the road would not re-open before this morning’s rush hour.
He said work was expected to be carried out early this week, but he could not put an exact timescale on the job.
He added: “We will be working to complete the repair as quickly as possible and would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
The road is a popular route to the industrial estates at Altens, Tullos and Nigg, where many of the major oil companies are based. An Aberdeen City Council spokesman confirmed that the road would remain closed until Scottish Water had carried out repairs.
He said: “We are working with Scottish Water but it is for them to lead on this.”
Local authority roads workers dismantled a nearby lamppost on Saturday, after the sodden ground left it unsafe.
A number of households were also left without water following the leak.
Some residents in Kincorth and Torry reported that their water supply had been completely cut off, while others complained of dirty, brown water coming out of their taps.
The Scottish Water spokesman said engineers had been quickly on hand to carry out temporary repairs and that the water supply had been restored to homes by 3am on Saturday. However, he said some customers may have encountered temporary low pressure or mild discolouration of tap water after that time.