MOTORISTS and parents face traffic chaos when two roads are closed for building work, councillors claim.

The roads will be closed when Network Rail carries out work on bridges in Station Road in Blackrod and Grimeford Lane, near Adlington.

Councillors from Horwich and Blackrod have appealed to Network Rail to not close both roads at the same time as it will have a huge effect on local residents.

Cllr Ann Cunliffe said the firm should come up with an alternative arrangement. She said: “There are no realistic diversions to accommodate the impact of these two Blackrod road closures.

“A diversion via the Blackrod bypass is not a workable option especially in the morning gridlock.

“Besides being a nightmare for motorists, parents use Station Road to take their children to school — they will find it extremely difficult to get their children to school on time.”

“I feel that Network Rail have not taken into account any of the problems that will be faced by local residents, businesses or road users and I think they could and should have found a way to reschedule their programme of works to build these bridges separately.”

Cllr Alan Bury said: “It is not possible to underestimate the impact of these works.

“Replacement bus routes will need to be put in place and contingency plans will need to be developed that take into account the longer response times required by the emergency services as they use the longer alternative routes.”

The bridges need to be rebuilt to provide sufficient clearance for new overhead lines as the rail network in the region is electrified.

The provisional plans would see Station Road shut from January 30 until June 11 and Grimeford Lane, which connects to it, will be closed to the public from March 6 until June 11.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “We have worked closely with Bolton Council to minimise the length of the closures and any inevitable overlap.”