The utilities firm responsible for the roadworks that are causing severe delays in Gloucester has apologised for the disruption, but said the scheduled work would take up to six weeks to complete.

Motorists travelling along Hempsted Lane in Gloucester have been hit by long delays this week, as Severn Trent Water began digging up a short stretch of road adjacent to Gloucester Quays.

The emergency work hopes to repair a partially collapsed sewer and has seen the northbound lane of the A430 closed entirely to traffic 24 hours a day, for the next six weeks.

Temporary traffic lights are in place to manage motorists, which is said to be causing delays in both directions of more than an hour.

FSB development manager Sam Holiday was caught up in the traffic jams and said that the closure will affect not only Gloucester residents, but also the large amount of businesses based in this part of the city.

"At a time when city centre businesses need as much support as possible as they try to bounce back from the pandemic, to have a key part of the city effectively gridlocked is another major blow," he said.

"Like many people I was caught out on the first day of the changes - it took me well over an hour to get just one mile from Alney Island to the Sainsbury's turn off and it meant I was very late for an event in Bristol. That however is a small issue compared to the missed doctor's appointments, childcare problems and lost business others faced and the thought of up to six weeks of this will worry a lot of people.

"We all know that work like this has to be done but I just felt we needed more warning and far better alternative routes and diversions planned out in advance. At a time when we want to tell everyone that Gloucester is open for business, it certainly hasn't felt that way this week."

Robert Lynch, a director of High Tech Fabrications based on Sudmeadow Road, added: "We are seeing huge tailbacks going in every single direction, because obviously it is a main route for traffic going through Gloucester and everything is literally coming to a standstill.

"Getting into work is talking an extra 40 minutes just queuing up and waiting. The impact of the roadworks and the delays are going to cause a huge problem for getting supplies through to us."

Severn Trent's estimation means that the sewage works could last until June 7, which may also cause disruption to events in the city such as the Dragon Boat Festival, the Platinum Jubilee and the Tall Ships Festival.

A spokesperson from Severn Trent said: "We would like to apologise for any disruption caused by our scheduled work to repair a partially collapsed sewer on the A430 in Gloucester.

"This essential work will take up to six weeks to complete, and will prevent a full sewer collapse which could cause sewer flooding and drainage issues in the area.

"We've worked closely with Gloucestershire Highways to determine a fully signposted diversion route which will be in place throughout the project to keep everyone safe as our teams work hard to get the repair finished as soon as possible.

"Again, we're really sorry for the inconvenience as we know this is a busy road, but it will be our absolute priority to make sure the pipe is fixed and get everything back to normal as quickly as possible."