A BUSY road is to fully re-open after ten months of misery for motorists.

Junction improvement works and resurfacing in Bolton Road, Farnworth, will be completed by June 17, according to Bolton Council.

Cllr David Chadwick, the council’s cabinet member for highways, said: “I can sum up how I feel in two words – I’m ecstatic!”

The saga began on August 17 last year when a bridge at Moses Gate was closed after being damaged by a burst water main.

A section of the bridge collapsed on to the railway as a result of the burst and this created a hole in the road. The area of Bolton Road and Egerton Street was completely closed following the burst, causing traffic chaos in the area.

Network Rail then embarked on structural work to stabilise the bridge and rebuild the road above the bridge

The bridge, which carries traffic from Bolton Road and Egerton Street over the railway line, was scheduled to reopen six weeks after the burst.

But the complexities behind repairing the bridge meant weeks turned into months.

Frustrated motorists became increasingly irate at the closure, prompting Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi to visit the site in November to seek answers about the delay.

Speaking at the time, a spokesman for Network Rail said: “We have to stabilise the bridge’s foundations, improve drainage, install concrete piles, regrade the railway embankment, reinstate walls and resurface the road.”

There were also difficulties with utility pipes running through the site, including gas, electricity, telecoms and water, that had to be worked around.

There was more misery for motorists when Network Rail announced it would not fully reopen until this year.

In February, Bolton Council announced that Bolton Road would partially be reopened for drivers heading southbound, towards Kearsley roundabout.

This meant that traffic heading towards Farnworth from Bolton was able to travel along Manchester Road and Bolton Road.

Traffic going in the opposite direction continued to be diverted along Egerton Street.

Cllr Chadwick said: “The saga had been going on for so long that I was beginning to doubt that it would ever be completed.

“Now that we have been given a completion date it is going to make life a lot easier for residents and people who use the route.”