Residents were urged to schedule extra time to travel to and from western destinations when Belco works begin again next week.

The electricity company’s transmission upgrade project will resume on Monday.

It said: “Work in the East End of the island is complete.

“The central to Barnes Corner section in the West End is also complete. Work on the section from Barnes Corner to Evans Bay will resume on Monday, January 19.

“The public are encouraged to allow additional time to get to their destination as there are no alternative routes.

“Traffic lights will be in place for the duration of the project with manual traffic controls to accommodate rush hour traffic.”

Belco reminded residents that transmission, distribution and retail assets are being upgraded to “improve reliability, reduce costs and expand grid capacity”.

Trenching work has taken place across the island to replace “old, high-voltage underground” cables, some of which were more than 50 years old, a company spokesman said earlier.

Shelly Leman, a managing director at Belco, noted: “We are now in the final stages of our transmission upgrade project — one of the most important network projects Belco has undertaken to modernise the grid in recent times.

“I encourage everyone to drive safely around open trenches and working crews.

“This project has many benefits for the consumer and will help to maintain grid reliability and support future renewable penetration.

“I thank the public for their patience and understanding and look forward to the project being completed and ensuring a more reliable, sustainable energy future for all our customers.”