DRIVERS in Christchurch have experienced long traffic jams as a result of diversions caused by repair works on Bargates.

A section of the road between Twynham Avenue and The Mews is to be closed off while Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) repair a leaking high voltage main which could have affected 20,000 homes and businesses in the area.

Diversions are in place along Stour Road to the four-way traffic lights, causing long queues backing along Fairmile Road.

In a letter sent out to residents, SSEN said that they are required to carry out “essential repairs to the 33,000 volt electricity system located within Bargates, between the junctions of Twynham Avenue and The Mews, in Christchurch”.

The repair work began yesterday and, according to SSEN, “will hopefully be complete within three weeks”.

A spokesperson from SSEN said: “We would like to apologise to the local community and road-users for any disruption that has been caused by these essential emergency repairs.

“We appreciate that any works involving a road closure or diversion can have an impact on our customers’ daily routines, and we thank everyone for their patience as our teams go about their work.”

SSEN had erected a sign saying that the works would only last for one week, leading to confusion amongst residents about how long project would take.

Many people have also questioned the timing of the works, with students from schools such as Twynham School and Christchurch Junior School returning on Monday.

In a post on Twitter, a spokesperson for the Christchurch Independents group said: “A high voltage main has started leaking and so this road closure is essentially unavoidable whilst they carry out their repair.

“If this is not dealt with immediately then there could be disruption to power to our homes.

“Please be rest assured that your Councillors are working very closely with BCP council highways team and SSE to try to minimise disruption and we will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

“Currently we may be looking at up to three weeks of disruption, however, until the engineers identify and assess the issue its very difficult to apply a timescale.”