Traffic misery at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen is now expected to continue into early next week.
A flooded gas network at the notorious bottleneck has left nearby residents without supplies since Saturday, August 28.
Crews closed Great Northern Road and Auchmill Road westbound from the Haudagain the same day as they worked to fix the problem.
Now it has been confirmed the closure is expected to last through the weekend and into early next week.
Closure causes delays across Aberdeen
The Haudagain roundabout is one of Aberdeen’s biggest bottlenecks.
Motorists have been advised to stay away from the area due to the closure amid reports of 30-minute delays in the surrounding area.
Stagecoach and First bus services have been rerouted from the area to alternative roads.
An update from SGN has warned disruption is expected to continue for several more days.
It adds: “The A96 Great Northern Road and Auchmill Road will remain closed for westbound motorists at Haudagain Roundabout throughout the weekend and into next week.
“We’d like to once again apologise to everyone affected and thank you for your ongoing support and understanding.”
Traffic has been diverted to Muggiemoss Road during the closure.
A further update is expected to be published by SGN on Friday morning.
What is happening with gas supplies?
Supplier SGN says they have made “great progress” through Thursday in removing water from the gas network.
By Thursday morning more than 185,000 litres of water had been pumped from pipes.
*** TRAFFIC UPDATE *** Part of the A96 Auchmill Road is still closed due to the gas leak and motorists are asked to continue to avoid the Haudagain area as there are queues on the diversion route. Latest information on the gas leak is available at https://t.co/oTNNuKn924
— Aberdeen City Council (@AberdeenCC) September 2, 2021
Most properties affected are expected to have gas restored on Thursday evening.
Engineers will visit homes to turn supplies back on with residents urged not to attempt to do it themselves.
Meanwhile, SGN has said compensation to affected households will be paid automatically with the payments expected to take up to five weeks amid warnings it can take up to three months to show on some accounts.
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