SCOTTISH Water have apologised to motorists for congestion on the A8 in recent weeks — as restrictions are lifted along one carriageway.

The firm says it’s sorry drivers have been caught up in gridlock along East Hamilton Street for the last month as they close lanes to carry out a £2.1 million mains upgrade project.

Tailbacks have stretched for miles and rush-hour journeys from Greenock to the Port were taking up to an hour when the disruption was at its peak.

But the congestion has finally started to ease after contractors completed work on the eastbound carriageway on Thursday night, with no restrictions in place over the weekend.

Westbound traffic will still be affected by delays for the next three weeks — but bosses insist the end is now in sight.

Mark Maclaren, Scottish Water’s regional communities team manager, said: “We would like to thank affected customers and road users for their patience and understanding while we carry out this important work.

“Scottish Water recognises that there has been disruption to traffic on East Hamilton Street, particularly at peak times.

“We are sorry for this but can assure customers and road users that we have done everything possible to minimise disruption and will continue to do so.

“We expect any road traffic disruption to ease when the work and road traffic management moves to the westbound carriageway of East Hamilton Street.” The apology comes as Inverclyde Council chiefs — who are not responsible for the busy A8 trunk road — slammed the company for their handling of the works.

At a meeting of councillors last week, Aubrey Fawcett, director of environment and regeneration, said: “I’ve spoken to the chief executive of Scottish Water and expressed grave concerns on behalf of the council about the delays.

“They are fully aware of some of the issues and they have challenges in terms of pipes across both carriageways.

“They have been told in no uncertain terms we are unhappy.” But Scottish Water chiefs say they are doing all they can to minimise disruption, including having workers manually operating temporary traffic lights to help the flow of traffic.

The organisation also explained why workers were not always visible on site — something which irked many drivers.

Mr Maclaren said: “Our work requires temporary disruption to normal water supplies to some properties and to minimise disruption to commercial properties we are digging pits during the day and installing new lining on the water main at night.

“This might have given the impression to some customers that there was less activity on site during the day than there is at night, when the road is not so busy.

“But we can assure customers that this is simply because we are doing everything possible to maintain normal water supplies to businesses and homes during the day and restrict any temporary planned shutdowns to night time, when the shutdowns have less impact on those businesses.

“We can also assure all affected customers, road users and businesses that we are doing everything we can to complete our work as quickly as possible and that any short-term inconvenience will be far out-weighed by the long-term benefits this project will deliver.” The company is upgrading almost seven miles of water mains in Port Glasgow and Greenock.

It will help to provide thousands of customers with clearer, fresher drinking water.

During the next phase of work, starting tomorrow, a section of the inside lane on the westbound carriageway of East Hamilton Street — between Pottery Street and Sinclair Street — will be closed.

The closure will remain in place until 22 May.

Pottery Street will remain open, although traffic management will be in place.