The Mancunian Way was shut this morning - and it was EXACTLY as bad as you'd imagine!

Traffic was very slow in Manchester this morning as the Mancunian Way was closed completely for two days of works.

The southern section of the inner ring road was shut to traffic on Monday morning , as work to repair the sinkhole which famously appeared ten months ago, is finished and the contraflow system is removed from the road.

It is due to reopen completely on Wednesday, finally bringing to an end nearly a year of disruption while the £6m repair job was under way.

Transport bosses are asking people to avoid the area during busy periods and suggest those with a short commute should leave their cars at home and walk or cycle to work instead.

Engineers will spend the two days repainting road markings and inspect the road.

Diversion routes will be signposted but drivers are warned to allow extra time.

Those travelling across the city should follow the ‘inner relief route diversion’ signs - while those wanting to get into the city should look for ‘city centre diversion’ signs.

Motorists are also asked to avoid rush hour travel if possible.

They are urged instead to use park and ride sites and public transport - which is also expected to be busier.

And transport bosses suggest those with shorter commuter should ‘walk or cycle.’

John Fryer from TfGM said managing traffic had been a ‘significant challenge’ aided by a control centre to adjust signal timings and minimise delays - but said the reopening was great news.

Coun Kate Chappell, executive member for environment at Manchester City Council, said: “We’d like to thank the public for bearing with us during this challenging work.

“As the damage affected a major sewer there was no alternative but for United Utilities to carry out this complex large-scale repair deep underground otherwise large parts of east Manchester would have been left without a functioning sewage system.”

The sinkhole appeared in the carriageway when a culvert collapsed under the road.

The collapse destroyed a main United Utilities sewer and engineers were unable to repair it because of unsafe ground conditions.

The ‘only option’ viable was to build a new section of sewer, which resulted in three 15 metre-deep shafts being sunk into the ground.

United Utilities claim it’s the biggest emergency repair the company has ever undertaken.