Portsmouth traffic: Here's when Eastern Road will fully reopen as major update given amid severe delays

Work has been continuing to fix a burst sewer pipe on Eastern Road, but have resulted in severe delays on the roads this morning. These delays are expected to continue in the afternoon and a rush hour.

Motorists have faced queues of over an hour on parts of the A27, A3, A3(M) and elsewhere. Part of the A2030 Eastern Road was initially shut on Friday morning.

NOW READ: LIVE – Severe A3, A3(M) and A27 delays due to Eastern Road closure

National Highways had said the westbound exit slip road was expected to be reopened on Wednesday at the earliest. However Southern Water has now said it hopes the road will reopen this evening.

In a statement it said: “Just to update you both we're hoping that the closure of Eastern Road in Portsmouth should be finished by 7pm (this evening) and the road (will be) fully re-open.

“We're just finishing off the resurfacing of the road, we know this burst sewer caused considerable disruption to residents, businesses and commuters and we're very sorry for this, especially considering this is a crucial route into and out of Portsmouth.”

Traffic monitoring system ROMANSE reported earlier this morning that there are severe delays across the Portsmouth area. They said on social media: “#A27/#A3/#A3M- severe delays westbound and southbound on surrounding roads due to the closure of A27 Westbound exit slip A2030 Eastern Rd and southbound closure of A2030 Eastern Rd.”

Public transport services have also been affected, with First Bus apologising for the issues they were having. The company said: “We know how tough it is to experience delays, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience. Our staff are doing their best to keep buses running.”