IT has only been open for a few days after being closed because of flooding.

But yesterday, traffic on Botley Road, Oxford, was backed up for miles.

Electrical works at the junction with Ferry Hinksey Road caused travel mayhem for drivers and bus passengers coming into the city during the morning and evening rush hours.

Contractors Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) said work could continue through this morning’s peak travel time.

It took James Milligan, 37, three hours to get from his home in Carterton to his office in Frideswide Square.

He said: “This is worse than when it was flooded, it is just frustrating.”

Drivers and businesses have questioned why work couldn’t be carried out at night but SSE said they worked throughout Wednesday night to fix the fault on an underground cable.

It said its priority was fixing the problem for customers, after 70 people experienced power cuts recently.

Staff at Woodlands Pharmacy on Botley Road said its two vans, which deliver medicines around the city, were caught up in traffic.

Pharmacist Pupinder Ghatara said: “We do a lot of deliveries and the traffic can affect us.

“I would rather they did the work at night, it would make life a lot easier.”

Stagecoach reported delays of an hour or more on its bus services and Oxford Bus Company cancelled services.

SSE spokesman Gavin Steel said the company was made aware of problems at 4pm on Wednesday and engineers immediately went to the site to locate the fault.

He said: “We would like to apologise for the disruption while engineers complete this work.”