Hundreds of motorists experienced lengthy delays after a burst water main forced the closure of one of the main routes out of Perth.
A lane of the Perth Bridge, which links the city centre to Bridgend, was cordoned-off as a Scottish Water team carried out repairs.
The works required the excavation of a section of the carriageway and heaped misery on rush hour motorists at what is one of the city’s worst traffic bottlenecks.
Morning queues built-up on Atholl Street and onto Dunkeld Road as a result of the lane closure whose junctions are already health hazards as a result of congestion.
The burst main required drivers to make a detour along Tay Street and onto the Queen’s Bridge, causing further delays at the foot of South Street and on Dundee Road.
Traffic was then forced to double-back to Bridgend another city traffic hotspot for those entering and exiting the city to the east.
The issue arose on Tuesday evening, with water from the main running down the eastbound lane of the bridge.
Closure of the bridge was not enforced until late in the evening, however, hitting rush-hour traffic on Wednesday morning.
Fortunately, the school holidays removed some traffic from the roads, though other motorists were caught up in the enforced detour.
Perth and Kinross Council has said the repairs should be completed by the end of the day.