Traffic misery for months

And they are set to continue for nine months.

The work, around Lower Bridgeman Street, Orlando Street and Trinity Street, is part of a £2.7 million bus lane scheme.

But it is causing hours of traffic chaos during the day and sparking gridlock during busy rush hour periods.

Motorists caught in traffic jams last night were furious.

Salford College student Gail Nicholson, aged 23, from Tonge Moor, said: "A 20-minute journey is taking an hour. Every time I try to take a different route I still hit traffic."

"The worst thing is you never seen anybody working, just a load of cones blocking the lanes."

The work has been underway since March. Teams are widening and resurfacing the new road and installing new traffic lights at the junction of Manchester Road and Trinity Street and at the entrance to the nearby Central Retail Park.

It is designed to complement the "Northern Orbital Bus Corridor" which runs from Bury Road.

In the months ahead, temporary lane closures will affect traffic in both directions along Manchester Road and will extend into Bradshawgate as far as Shifnall Street.

There will also be lane closures at various times in Lower Bridgeman Street, Bradford Street, Trinity Street and Bridgeman Place.

The bus corridor project has created new bus routes through Bolton, Bury and Rochdale. The work is intended to prevent buses getting slowed down by congestion.

Hugh German, of the Advanced Motorists Society, said the roadworks delays were very frustrating for drivers.

"The pain this scheme is causing to motorists would seem to outweigh the benefits that it will create," he said.

"I find it hard to believe that the public whose lives are based around cars are going to be convinced to use buses and it seems buses are being given too much priority on the roads.

"It is extremely annoying and frustrating to be stuck in the traffic jams this work is causing and the thought of another nine months is unbearable."

Mum Lorna Williams who lives on Bromitt Street, just minutes away from Trinity Street, where she was stuck in traffic, said: "It's horrendous. I have only come from round the corner, and the journey can take up to an hour. it is hard when you have children in the car because they become agitated and just want to go home for their tea. It's a joke that this is going to happen for the next nine months."

But Town Centre Manager Cathy Savage said: "It is frustrating for drivers but the work is necessary.

"It is going to annoy motorists but will ultimately improve public transport links to the town centre."

A council spokesman said: "This is a very busy junction and we would ask motorists to be patient and allow extra time for journeys or use an alternative route.

"The work means there will be various lane closures which will have implications for traffic flows, but once it's completed the new layout will improve traffic flows and safety for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists."

Cllr Ebrahim Adia, Labour's new executive member for regeneration and development on Bolton Council, said: "This is a major investment in Bolton town centre, and while it is going to cause some inconvenience during the next few months, it will bring improved traffic flow and better access to the town centre as well as other benefits such as pedestrian crossings, a new cycle lane and priority bus lane."