MOTORISTS were delayed for several hours early yesterday when one of Scotland's busiest commuter routes, the A80 between Glasgow and Stirling, was jammed with tailbacks stretching for up to eight miles.
The chaos, which was caused by resurfacing work on northbound lanes between Haggs and Bankhead, spread to other routes, with a five-mile-long bottleneck on the M73 and A73.
The Automobile Association said the traffic problems were among the worst they had encountered and Central Scotland Police said the problems were compounded by an accident at the Auchenkilns roundabout, near Cumbernauld.
Falkirk Council, which was carrying out the roadworks on behalf of the Forth Local Authority Consortium, insisted the Scottish Office had lifted a restriction on work being carried out during rush hour.
A spokeswoman said: ''In the interests of safety, this patch of road had to be resurfaced.
''The access times for work would normally be between 7.30pm and 6.30am, but because of the scale of the work we approached the Scottish Office and asked them to waive this.
''It was aware and the police were aware of the work.
''We would apologise to the public but it is essential maintenance work.''
However, the Scottish Office insisted that it had not sanctioned the unusual work times. A spokesman added: ''The work was due to finish on Friday but, given the problems that have been experienced, they will be re-programmed to be carried out at a future date.
''We have asked for an urgent report to be submitted to ourselves to make sure there is no repeat of this incident.''
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