MOTORISTS faced traffic chaos after a 5ft deep hole appeared in one of Glasgow’s busiest streets.

The subsidence appeared in Union Street at the weekend and forced the closure of two lanes.

However, there were fears on Monday that all three lanes may have to be closed to carry out repairs.

Council workers were carrying out excavation work this morning to establish the cause of the subsidence.

They were then expected to make a decision on the best way to repair it.

The busy three-lane street sends traffic towards the Clyde down Jamaica Street and along Argyle Street.

Subsidence was first reported on Saturday and only the left hand lane is open.

There were huge tailbacks as commuters and buses tried to get through the bottleneck.

Glasgow Taxis driver Stuart Carlton said it was “causing chaos”.

He said: “This is one of Glasgow’s busiest routes, people use it to cross the river and get to the South Side.

“It’s also a problem for us because we’ve just got a new taxi rank in Union Street so it’s making it difficult to get out.”

Mr Carlton, who has been a taxi driver for 12 years, said the road had been a problem for some time.

He said: “This just keeps happening, the hole keeps appearing.

“It’s been going on for years. They always try and fix it but now it’s got even worse.

“We’ve been hearing they might have to close the whole road to get it fixed properly. That will cause even more problems.”

Workers were waiting on the arrival of a digger to begin excavations.

A bus stop was closed next to the subsidence.

It is understood that bus bosses have plans in place to deal with disruption if any other parts of the road need to be closed off.

A council spokesman said: “We are carrying out excavation works to establish the cause of the problem.

“Obviously we want to sort it as soon as possible and at minimum disruption to the travelling public.”