Commuters into Hamilton can expect speedometers to flatten near zero and frustration levels to soar ? for days.

The heavy dose of road rage served up yesterday and today will likely be back tomorrow as well, and the next day too.

"Horrible!" yelled one driver as he inched along East Broadway yesterday morning.

"Awful!" screamed another.

The already slow morning drive into Hamilton is crippled by the Winward Place construction project across the street from the East Broadway Shell station. As the waterfront office building started to go up, a chunk of the street level asphalt almost came down.

Right now the harbour side lane is perilously close to an open pit on the construction site ? leaving a margin of error so small, even the slightest wayward driver might have accidentally driven over the edge.

So in the interest of safety, a section of East Broadway was reduced to one lane.

The closure stretches a measly 35 yards, but caused problems that stretched for miles.

Nicky Turner was in the thick of it. "From Warwick, I left at five past eight. And now it's after nine," she explained while standing next to her parked car near the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

The trip usually takes her about 30 minutes. Yesterday it took twice that.

Nonetheless, she decided it was worth the trouble because, before now, tiptoeing along East Broadway was a dance with danger. "I'm glad they're doing it," Ms Turner said, "I have to walk in that area."

She hopes once the road reopens, a new, safer sidewalk comes with it.

Bermuda Police strategically placed officers along the route to help motorists and pedestrians flow more smoothly. In a light, yet persistent rain, officers directed traffic at the Crow Lane/Reid Street merge, on East Broadway, and at two junctions on Front Street.

But there was little they could do.

At around 9 a.m., a driver rolled down his window to say: "I left home at seven. I'm still here!"

His car inched out of earshot before he could reveal how far he had travelled. But in two hours he should have been able to drive from Boaz Island to Coney Island.

Even commuters who don't work inside city limits faced tardiness at work.

Meredith Johnson planned ahead and was still ten minutes late to her desk at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

"I saw on the news when they were talking about the traffic situation," she said.

It took Ms Johnson one hour and twenty-five minutes from her home in Somerset to the hospital in Paget, and she didn't have to deal with the drama of East Broadway like most other drivers.

"I read the paper coming down in the car. Or I filed my nails," she said without even a chuckle. "It's not the sharpest thing to do, but it works."

The epic backups are expected to last until at least Friday. That prompted a ferry advisory from the Director of Marine and Ports.

"I want to encourage West End residents to consider using our catamaran ferries until the road works are complete," said Francis Richardson. "It is a more effective, efficient and less stressful way of getting into Hamilton."

Perhaps Mr. Richardson himself saw the unmistakable frustration on the faces of drivers as they crept by.

The landscapers along East Broadway could see it, the ship-workers at Rance's Boatyard saw it, even Johnny Barnes noticed as he waved from his usual spot at the Crow Lane Rotary.

"It's 'cause of the one lane up there, mate," he politely explained.

From his vantage point, Mr. Barnes saw a stream of endless cars for hours.

So no one should be more surprised than him to learn that the one-lane shutdown causing all the trouble was only about the length of a basketball court.

The Ministry of Works and Engineering said yesterday hat traffic restrictions along East Broadway would be in place until December 23.

"The partial closure on the inside carriage lane into Hamilton is due to public safety concerns raised because of the ongoing work by a private developer along Crow Lane opposite the Shell gas station," said a spokesman.

"The Ministry of Works and Engineering is working hard to minimise interruption to traffic flow and is aiming quickly to lift the traffic restrictions before December 23 as soon as the construction work has been completed and safety issues are resolved.

"The private developer has committed to complete the work as soon as possible and the public will be regularly informed about the progress of the work on Crow Lane.

"West End motorists are particularly advised, because the one lane flow of traffic will affect inbound traffic, to use alternative forms of transport including buses or the ferry service into Hamilton.

"In the meantime the Bermuda Police Service will be working to minimise traffic disruption to the motoring public."

From now until December 23, westbound traffic on Crow Lane will not be able to turn right onto Lane Hill, there will be no parking from Spurling's Hill to Hamma Galleries car park on Crow Lane and lanes on Crow Lane (eastbound) and Spurling's Hill (except for access) will be closed for all vehicles except buses and tractor trailers from 7.30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Police will also be closing off areas and restricting parking as is required.

Parking will be available from Hammer Galleries car park to Lane Hill on Crow Lane.

A Police spokesman said: "There will be Police officers at major junctions in and around the city to help the traffic coming into the city."