WORK to repair parts of the Thelwall Viaduct has been delayed and motorists now face delays until early June.

The £2.5million project, which started in February, was due to be finished by May but more repairs to the concrete deck beneath the bridge mean work will now continue until early June.

It will mean overnight carriageway closures next week - with a full southbound closure next Tuesday night and the northbound will shut overnight on Wednesday.

Highways Agency project sponsor Louise Cannon said: “Drivers who’ve been using Thelwall Viaduct regularly during this work will know there is a 40mph speed limit in place for safety reasons and we would like to thank everyone for their continued patience as we work to complete this vital maintenance project.

“We would also like to apologise for the delay in switching the work across to the northbound bridge.

“Thelwall Viaduct is heavily used with a significant proportion of commercial traffic and it is in the nature of this kind of work that you cannot exactly predict the kind of repairs needed before installing the new bridge joints.

"Our contractors have been working hard to complete the repairs and install the new expansion joints on the southbound bridge as quickly as possible but we are currently a month behind schedule.

“Traffic conditions on the southbound carriageway should now ease. “Drivers using the northbound carriageway will find a contraflow arrangement in place from the middle of next week with some extra congestion possible at peak times.

“We encourage them to think about planning their journeys – whether that means checking traffic conditions before setting out, staggering their normal journey times or using an alternative motorway route.”