CHAOTIC delays on a major through-road are set to end a week earlier than expected.

Commuters have been caught in long lines of traffic for weeks on St Peter’s Way (A666) after one-lane was closed in late October.

The disruption was the result of a project being run by Network Rail to remove a temporary sliproad which was used to bring in large vehicles to a site near Moses Gate Station during the recent rail electrification works. It was expected to continue until the first week of December.

But, Bolton Council bosses have confirmed that the work will now end this weekend.

The Southbound section of the carriageway will be closed overnight from 10pm today in order to remove the temporary barriers currently in place and the road is expected to be fully reopened from Sunday morning.

The decision has been met with widespread relief from drivers, who had been stuck in delays of up to 45 minutes.

Commuter Michelle Aspinall said: "Hallelujah. It's been a complete nightmare on top of an already heavily congested route.

"Much unwanted added stress. Also, should have had a much needed 'use both lanes and merge in turn' sign up to reduce the long line and manage flow better."

Renee McDermott added: "It takes ages to get through even at 6.30am. Thank goodness its finishing."

Another driver Jane Marie Ramsdale said: "At worst this added 40 mins to my commute, at best it was 15 mins, with drivers cutting in at the last minute because they can see that a hundred cars are queued on the right has almost caused accidents and many caustic remarks. A sign saying merge in turn might have helped.

"The new crash barrier has been in position for a week so surely the misery could have ended sooner. Manchester Road and Farnworth High Street have been bedlam with poor commuters trying to find an alternate route."

The access road was opened when engineers began work on the electrification of the railway through Bolton. It needed to be closed so that St Peters Way could be "reinstated" without any additional exits.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “We thank motorists for their patience while we carried out work to permanently close a railway access road on the A666.

"Now the work is complete we will be removing the lane closures and handing the road back to the council this weekend.”

Meanwhile, drivers had already been dealing with delays since a Bolton Council traffic order in May 2018 reduced speeds from 50mph to 40mph.

This is set to remain in place on the road until summer 2020.