People heading into Chester along Sealand Road for some last-minute Christmas shopping are facing gridlock following a minor accident which happened last night.
There are bumper-to-bumper queues heading into the city from North Wales, while traffic in the opposite direction is also heavy.
The congestion is worse than it would usually be at this time of year because a set of temporary traffic lights are in operation at the junction with Sovereign Way.
The traffic lights at the junction have been out of action since a car collided with a lamp-post outside the Volvo garage yesterday afternoon (December 22).
A statement from Cheshire West and Chester Council said they are 'working hard to try and improve the situation', adding that 'delays are likely'.
A Chester police spokeswoman confirmed there were no injuries resulting from yesterday's accident and the matter was reported to the highways authority.
The temporary lights are allowing one lane to move at a time, causing traffic to back up in both directions. There are reports of people being delayed by up to 40 minutes heading into Chester.
