Roadworks on a busy Essex road have been temporarily lifted until after the school exams.
Essex & Suffolk Water is working to upgrade the water network on London Road, Benfleet.
With the project running ahead of schedule, the remaining stages of activity would have involved moving from working in the westbound carriageway to the eastbound, earlier than planned.
To reduce the impact, the work has now been paused until after the exam period.
The water company has been working with Essex County Council’s Highways Department to look at how the final stages can best be done, recognising the greater impact upon road users, when traffic in the eastbound carriageways is impacted.
Plans to use a contraflow system, to allow two eastbound lanes to remain open, will now not be implemented. This is due to the necessity to narrow the lanes that would be open, and the potential impact on wider vehicles, including buses.
Daren Still, Project Manager at Essex & Suffolk Water, said: “We have worked with Essex County Council for a year on the planning of the work, with the good progress made so far, we have had to make a decision on whether to bring forward the work in the eastbound carriageway or wait until after the exam period. We have chosen to pause the work now, to minimise the impact over this busy time for students and to ensure the safety of road users.
“We will continue to work closely with Essex County Council and other local stakeholders, to finalise plans for the remaining stages of the project, so that this can be done in the safest and least impactful way possible.
“We would like to thank customers for their patience.”