DRIVERS could see some relief on the roads in Dawlish as work to upgrade gas pipes is due to finish by the end of the month.

Wales and West Utilities is near the end of its programme of essential upgrade work in the Exeter Road area of the town.

But South West Water has already begun its work in the Elm Grove Road area which has required a one-way system.

The combination of both sets of traffic restrictions have led to the so-called ‘nightmare on Elm Grove Road’.

Severe delays caused by the double whammy of roadworks has also badly affected bus services.

A spokesman for Stagecoach said: ‘We have experienced delays to services in recent months due to ongoing roadworks in the Dawlish area, with Services 2 and 11 affected.

‘These works are expected to continue for several more months, and we recognise the disruption this may cause for our customers.

‘We are actively managing our services on a daily basis to minimise delays wherever possible and will continue to keep customers informed as the situation develops.

‘Customers can keep up to via the Stagecoach app and website.’

Complaints about the ‘chaos’ caused continue with some recounting taking more than an hour to ‘circumvent’ the town.

Some parents are dropping children off at school increasingly early in the morning trying, but failing, to avoid the snarl-ups.

One said: ‘It’s an absolute joke, I dropped my daughter off to school at 7:40am and Elm Grove Road and the main road was gridlocked.

‘I get at normal drop off time yes but this is getting ridiculous. Something needs to be done.’

One resident said: ‘Try living on Elm Grove, completely trapped by the one way system and the lights.

‘At least others can take alternative routes.’

Another driver said: ‘It took me 25 minutes to get down Elm Grove Rd to the station, then nearly had a head on collision with a car coming the wrong way at the entrance to Sandy Lane from Exeter Rd too. It’s really quite ridiculous.’

A spokesman for South West Water said: ‘As we continue vital improvements to our wastewater network across Dawlish, there is a one-way system on Elm Grove Road while we carry out the safely.

‘We have now started the main works here and expect to complete the work and remove the traffic restrictions by late March.’

But motorists continue to report lengthy delays.

One said it took 20 to get from Gatehouse School to even get to Exeter Road which was then a ‘nightmare’ because of the queuing traffic there too.