A collapsed sewer may have been behind the traffic chaos which hit a Merseyside road last night, and which remains CLOSED this morning.
Traffic was left at a standstill after the dramatic collapse on Thursday afternoon.
Liverpool Road in Ainsdale began crumbling at around 4pm leaving hundreds of motorists trapped in long queues of traffic.
The road was quickly closed in both directions from Coastal Road to Woodvale Road.
Many people left work unaware of the incident, leaving them stuck in massive delays on the Formby Bypass , and surrounding areas.
Today council officials said the road remains closed and "a suspected sewer collapse" was behind the disruption.
United Utilities say investigation work has yet to identify any sewer defects.
A spokesman for Sefton Council said: "Due to a suspected sewer collapse near to the junction of the A565 Liverpool Road and Woodvale Road, Ainsdale, a section of the northbound carriageway of Liverpool Road has been temporarily closed."
He added: ""We have informed United Utilities, who are now investigating the issue."
Diversions have been put in place via the Coastal Road, Shore Road and Kenilworth Road.
A United Utilities spokesman said: "I can confirm we are liaising with Sefton Borough Council and are carrying out investigation work on our sewer at this location.
"The CCTV survey work completed so far is not showing any defects on the sewer, which would contribute to the issue with the road."
He added that more investigative work is taking place.
On Twitter, user @lolmarsh shared a picture yesterday of the grid locked traffic.
She said: "On the way to Southport to watch @watsoncomedian. If we ever get there #formbybypass #gridlock".
Easter B also said: "There are major delays coming from Formby to Ainsdale and Liverpool Road is closed at the end of the bypass - bit of a nightmare!"
Bus services were also affected.
Images of the road showed how a number of barriers and cones have been set out around holes in the concrete that look like they have been dug up.
