THE second day of month-long roadworks in Bishopthorpe Road, York, brought further traffic chaos to the area.

The northbound section of the road between the junction of Vine Street and Nunnery Lane will stay closed until March 31, for gas works.

Gillian Hall, who works in the Bishopthorpe Road Post Office, said the traffic this morning had been "horrendous".

She said: "Our early customers that come by car cannot get to us and it is affecting the other shops."

It had also had a knock-on effect, with one customer saying it had taken 40 minutes to get from one end of Tadcaster Road to the Odeon, a journey which normally takes about ten minutes.

The manager at Maynews newsagents, John Hutchison, agreed the traffic had been dreadful and said he was losing some customers who came to the shop by car. He said: "I think it is losing us trade a little bit with people not being able to get to the shop.

"They did give us plenty of notice and we have been as prepared as we can be. Most of our customers walk, but we do have few drivers and these are the ones that are affected."

James Ruane, for Transco, said the work was essential and would involve 250 metres of metal pipes being replaced with plastic pipes.

He said: "It is essential work to maintain the gas system so that people can continue to have gas to heat their homes.

Updated: 10:59 Tuesday, March 04, 2003