A major Merseyside road will be closed this weekend after a sewer 'collapsed' causing traffic chaos.
Motorists have suffered through hours of delays due to a massive hole opening on Liverpool Road in Ainsdale on Thursday afternoon.
It has now been confirmed that the entire road, in both directions , will stay closed until at least monday.
On Friday, council officials told the ECHO "a suspected sewer collapse" was behind the disruption and that United Utilities would be investigating.
Engineers have now discovered an issue with the sewer after carrying out an investigation and have said that a team will work over the weekend to repair it.
United Utilities have said they hope to repair the sewer and resurface the road before Monday.
A spokesperson for United Utilities said: “Engineers carrying out extensive survey work on the sewer have detected an issue.
"A team will complete the necessary repair work on the sewer over the weekend, with the aim of having the road resurfaced and fully reopened before Monday.”
“A temporary diversion route will remain in place during this work and we are sorry for any disruption this may cause.”
Bus routes were also affected by the road closure and will likely continue to be diverted this weekend.
Merseytravel tweeted: "Please be aware the road collapse on Liverpool Road between Woodvale Road and Moor Lane is still ongoing.
"All Arriva 44, 47 and Stagecoach X2 services will be subject to severe delays and will be diverted via the Coastal Road in both directions."
Travel site INRIX have confirmed that there is currently heavy traffic in the area.
The site said: "A565 Liverpool Road Northbound closed, heavy traffic due to emergency repairs from Coastal Road to Pinfold Lane.
"Congestion to the Formby Bypass.
"A section of the road surfaced collapsed yesterday evening.
"The road still remains closed affecting traffic heading from Liverpool towards Southport.
"Diversion - via Coastal Road, Shore Road and Kenilworth Road."
