STOPTOBER is not over yet — with delays on a major Bolton road to continue until at least the end of the week.

Lane closures have been in place since the start of the month as Network Rail carry out tunnelling work underneath St Peter’s Way as part of the Farnworth Tunnels electrification project.

Initially, Network Rail had predicted the daytime lane closures would last until yesterday — but bosses now expect them to remain in place until at least Friday.

The Bolton News reported yesterday that the work had caused a section of the road to “dip” — with transport bosses explaining that this was due to the ground taking time to settle after it has been disturbed by the tunnelling process.

The lane closures have varied between both carriageways and stretch from the junction with Manchester Road until the Kearsley Spur.

They have coincided with a month-long council project — looking at resurfacing the key route — which has led to overnight closures from 8pm until 6am each night in October.

It is understood the firm has an agreement with Bolton Council that the closures can continue until Monday — but engineers are confident the work will be completed before then.

Nick Spall, route delivery director for Network Rail, said: “Safety remains our top priority. Our monitoring has shown that the road is taking several days to settle into place.

“While we expect to be able to move our tunnelling machine without incident underneath the A666, we are leaving nothing to chance.

“That’s why, as a safety precaution, lane closures are prudent while we tunnel underneath. This is a key route for motorists, and we've have worked closely with Bolton Council to keep traffic moving.

"We apologise for any disruption this may cause.”

The lane closures are now in their final phase which means only the inside lane of the northbound carriageway will be closed for the rest of the week.

However a 40 mile per hour speed limit will continue to be in place on all lanes.

Network Rail has said that while tunnelling under the road has progressed at the expected rate, extensive monitoring has shown that it is taking the ground up to three days to settle after the tunnelling machine has passed underneath.