Roadworks on the A13 in Essex that caused long delays for motorists and problems for businesses have finished much sooner than expected.

Since 25 July, the A13 at Tarpots Junction in Benfleet has been closed 24 hours a day with work due to last until 15 August, but Cadent Gas said restrictions would now be lifted from midnight on Tuesday 4 August, says the BBC. The works replaced 800m (2,625ft) of gas pipes which were a century old.

Cadent spokesperson Stephanie Van Rosse said engineers had expected “certain challenges” at the junction which did not materialise – hence the works being finished ahead of schedule.

“We thought there might be a blockage there or the pipe might have kinked slightly so a full excavation would have been required, but that wasn’t the case,” she said.

“We were able to insert the new gas pipe into the old gas pipe quite smoothly, so it saved us a lot of time.”

Carl Williams, head of investment delivery at Cadent, said the team had worked “extremely hard, 24 hours a day” to get the section completed.

“The engineering technologies used worked better than anticipated, enabling us to reopen the road early,” he said.

(Picture: Mapillary)