Wessex Water has apologised after causing traffic chaos on Portland Beach Road on Tuesday afternoon.

Roadworks and temporary traffic lights were in place while Wessex Water fixed a leak next to the carriageway. The roadworks then resulted in long delays and traffic disruption between Portland and Wyke Regis as the work overran into rush hour.

A spokesman from Wessex Water said: “We are sorry for the delays caused to journeys and realise how frustrating this may have been. Unfortunately, there is only one road in and out of Portland so it is inevitable that any work on this road will cause problems. We had hoped that our work to fix a leak would have been completed by the evening rush hour, but unfortunately it took longer than expected.

“Engineers worked through the night to ensure the road was returned to normal and there was no impact on the morning rush hour.

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused while the essential work was being carried out.” 

Residents were concerned that the traffic holdup was unnecessary as the work completed by Wessex Water appeared to be off the carriageway.

The company was restricted on where they could place the spoil from the project because the land surrounding the water leak is a designated Site of Scientific Interest, which meant that Wessex Water had to use the road.

The water leak has now been fixed and the roadworks and temporary traffic lights have been removed.