The East Huntington Bridge closed this week for repairs - leaving some motorists at a standstill during their morning commute.

&#8220It's hectic,” Proctorville resident Jack Maynard said Tuesday. &#8220Not too bad this morning, hopefully it gets fixed quickly.”

The bridge will be closed for repairs until Nov. 17 leaving many motorists with a bit of wait on their hands to get in or out of Proctorville at &#8220peak” travel times during the day.

Patrolman Matt Rood of the Proctorville Police Department

said traffic was backed up to the Citgo station beside the fairgrounds on Tuesday morning. Rood said the approximate commute time from the village to Chesapeake was 20 to 25 minutes.

&#8220That's not bad,” he said of the wait.

As of yesterday, the police did not have any accidents reported due to the detour. Rood said the majority of the traffic is in the southbound lane, even in the afternoon. He advised motorists to leave an hour early for work and give themselves time to get through the traffic.

&#8220I was in Proctorville at 6 this morning and it was already backed up,” Charlie Workman who lives in Crown City and works at DC 2 on State Route 7 said. &#8220It's a mess. It was crazy.”

Workman said as she laughed that three people had come into the station and said they were going to quit their jobs because they were not going to fight the traffic. She said business at the Citgo had picked up this morning as people sitting in traffic came in for gas and coffee.

In Chesapeake, Sue Mays, assistant chief of the Chesapeake Police Department, said the traffic from the closure of the bridge has luckily flowed smoothly.

Traffic lights at the intersection are turned off and flag crews are in the intersection at the bridge from 6 to 9 a.m. and again from 3 to 6 p.m. to help the traffic program move along more smoothly.

Mays said police work together to update the flaggers regularly to help them with the traffic.

Tuesday was actually the first full day of closure since the bridge closed at 9 a.m. Monday, which meant most of the heavy early morning traffic was already through the area. Some motorists have also opted to take back roads to arrive at their destinations.

No matter what route motorists take, officials urge motorists to remember to drive cautiously and courteously because everyone else has to wait in traffic, too.