THE bungled repainting work on Bridge Foot island has cost taxpayers £5,000, the Warrington Guardian can reveal.

The controversial job, which cost more than £25,000 in total, was corrected overnight on Monday and replacement signs were installed on Tuesday morning.

It comes two weeks after the initial changes saw drivers stuck in hour long traffic jams as they were funnelled into one lane as they tried to drive to the south of the town.

The cost of the entire scheme including re-marking all roundabout lanes and approach roads plus new directional signs was £25,923, according to the council.

The cost to change the markings is around £5,000 although it is still to be confirmed by the contractor.

Clr Linda Dirir, the executive board member for highways, transportation and climate change at the council, said: "The renewal of these road markings was part of a wider programme of work to refresh faded lines across the borough’s road network.

“This work is undertaken annually for the safety of the travelling public.

“This time the opportunity was taken to change road markings at Bridge Foot with the intention of improving traffic flows.

“While some of the changes introduced have worked well, the changes on Wilson Patten Street lead to increase traffic queues and following significant feedback from motorists, senior councillors undertook an urgent review of the plans with officers.

“This has resulted in the changes made this week."

Council chiefs say the the work was ‘essential’ as the markings had faded due to the heavy traffic flows on the roundabout.

A spokesman said: “This cost is as a result of the renewal of lane markings around the whole of the Bridgefoot roundabout and its approaches being undertaken over a number of weeks.

“Extensive traffic management measures were required at weekends and overnight during the works to ensure the safety of the travelling public and the contractors working on site.”

This work was funded by the annual road markings renewal budget and by the 2012/13 Local Transport Plan.