Commuters travelling between the West End and Hamilton ran into difficulties yesterday afternoon, encountering a traffic jam which stretched well over a mile.

The traffic jam came as a result of the closure of most of Harbour Road by Belco and pavement resurfacing on Middle Road near Belmont taking that throughway down to single lane traffic where the work was being done. East-bound traffic was diverted onto Middle Road at Lover's Lane and was subsequently as far as Warwick Academy.

According to the Belco website, the Harbour Road work consisted of tree trimming, maintenance work, and the transfer of equipment.

The maintenance was scheduled to occur between 9 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. as an attempt to reduce the impact on residents.