Extra lanes and a new traffic light system with pedestrian crossing are replacing the double roundabout on Kingsway, and it is believed this will help alleviate congestion in the long term at what is one of Dundee’s busiest junctions.

In the meantime, the controversial roadworks have attracted criticism from motorists being held up in traffic jams.

At the approach to the Pitkerro Road roundabout, traffic travelling westwards on Kingsway East is now reduced to one lane.

One regular commuter held up on part of the dual carriageway said, “Normally when I join the Kingsway East at the Scott Fyffe junction it would take me a minute or two at most to drive up as far as the Asda Milton roundabout. This morning, it took about 15 minutes.

“I was reduced to crawling in first gear and, at some points, just couldn’t get moving at all.”

Traffic coming off the roundabout at Longtown Road was also forced to wait as there was nowhere for them to go when they were met with the hold ups.

Another motorist said, “I joined the queue of traffic at 8.30 am. It was hectic and drivers were looking pretty fraught when we weren’t able to get going.”

The roadworks are being funded by retail firm Morrisons, which opened a new supermarket on the former Linlathen High School site nearby.

Last week Malcolm Construction, the company carrying out the roadworks, warned motorists that the problems experienced so far had only been ‘the calm before the storm’.

The statement from the Malcolm Construction explained the works were moving into a new phase focusing on the reconstruction of the smaller roundabout.

Moving into the new stage resulted in a new contra-flow system being put in place last night, which will last for three weeks.

The contra-flow will then be swapped over to allow work on the westbound carriageway and will last for another three weeks.

The construction company’s statement added, “We have reduced the timescales on these works to a minimum.

“We are on schedule with the overall programme of works.

“This is one of the last major reconstruction periods in the project, with only the complicated integration of the new traffic lights into the traffic flows to construct.”