A BUSY road has fully reopened four days ahead of schedule following months of motoring misery for residents.

Bolton Road, which connects Bolton and Farnworth, was expected to reopen on Saturday, but is now open to vehicles travelling in both directions

It was closed to drivers after a water leak at Moses Gate railway station caused a section of a bridge to collapse last August.

And while motorists have been able to travel from Farnworth to Bolton since February, it has remained closed in the opposite direction until now.

Cllr David Chadwick, Bolton Council's executive member for highways said: "“We would like to thank motorists, residents and business owners for their continued patience during the closure and we are now delighted that traffic can flow freely once again.

“The closure was caused by an incident which had significant ramifications for the area and the council has worked really hard with partners to get the road reopened.”

As a result of the water burst Network Rail had to carry out major structural work to stabilise the bridge and rebuild the retaining wall.

Roadworks planned by Bolton Council at the time of the burst water main were put on hold, but have now been completed, allowing the road to reopen.