A section of a busy Aberdeen road will be closed for a further three days due to ongoing work to repair a leaking gas pipe.
Riverside Drive has been closed from its junction with Polmuir Road to the roundabout leading to Wellington Road since last Thursday.
Scotia Gas Networks (SGN) engineers were immediately sent out to repair the leak on the gas main under the street.
However, when they arrived, SGN workers discovered the damage was more significant than first thought.
SGN discovered part of the leaking area had broken away from the pipe wall. A connecting pipe was then shut, leaving 12 beach-front businesses at Queens Links without gas until last Friday.
A spokeswoman for SGN yesterday said that a “temporary repair” had been completed, but further work was required for a “permanent” solution.
She said: “We’re aiming to have the road reopen on Wednesday.
“We have made the temporary repair but the nature of the leak requires a specialist, permanent repair.
“We’re just working on that bit, we have repaired that leak temporarily at the time, an extra bit of equipment needs to come up.”
Labour councillor for Torry and Ferryhill, Yvonne Allan, said: “The gas works has caused disruption, you can’t deny that, but people’s safety is paramount.
“If it takes longer to stay safe I’m okay with that. It’s a very busy roundabout, that whole stretch is busy as well, and people park on the riverside so all that has been restricted.
“It is causing a lot of traffic disruption, but I’d rather have disruption to travel than people in danger.”
On Thursday afternoon, worried city residents alerted the fire and rescue service to a “strong smell of gas” in the city centre, particularly around the Union Square shopping centre.
Calls were coming into the service from 4pm, and the smell was eventually linked to the gas leak on Riverside Drive.
However, SGN insisted the smell posed no danger and was part of a “controlled situation” during the emergency repair work.
Last week, a SGN spokeswoman said part of the problem could be Aberdeen’s ageing gas network.
She said: “It’s hard to say exactly why that (the pipe) was leaking. Some are Victorian and they break.”