Motorists plagued by the seven-week closure of well-used road have been given some relief after it was temporarily opened.

SGN has announced the closure of A250 Halfway Road on Sheppey has been lifted for this weekend only.

It is part of the 30-year programme to replace old gas mains with newer, reliable plastic pipes.

Engineers are working on the junction of St Katherine Road to Power Station Road as part of the first phase.

A signed diversion is in place for motorists.

The project started on Monday (November 4) and is expected to finish on Monday, December 23.

To read more about the closure, click here.

This week drivers say they experienced “traffic chaos” – with lengthy queues heading into Sheerness via Marine Parade.

One person said it took him around 30 minutes to travel the three-mile journey from The Broadway in Minster to the centre of Sheerness.

On Tuesday, Swale council announced that parking charges have been suspended in the Ship on Shore car park.

This is to allow residents to park off of the main road, which helps to free the route of any hazards that could cause congestion.

Since then, SGN has posted an update on the project, saying that the work is “progressing well”.

“However, as we approach this Sunday's Remembrance Day parade outside Sheerness Station, we've agreed with the local authority and other organisations, to temporarily lift our closure area this weekend,” it said.

The road was reopened at midday yesterday and will shut again on Monday morning (November 11).

Stones Garden Centre, which is on Halfway Road, initially posted a warning to their customers.

They have also uploaded a picture to their Facebook page, which shows only part of the road being worked on, with enough space for a vehicle to drive through.

The company commented: “Why do we even need a full road closure of Halfway Road?

“We’ve emailed the relevant departments but so far no luck!”

A spokesperson for SGN said: “We've received some queries about the level of closure since it was introduced earlier this week.

“While people have questioned if vehicles could safely pass our current work area, we've needed space to deliver machinery and equipment to the site and carry out underground plant surveys.

“We'll need to excavate nearer the centre of the carriageway shortly to access and replace our pipes.

“We understand this closure is frustrating for local road users, but please be assured that we only use the level of traffic management necessary to keep everyone safe around our sites.”