MONTHS of traffic misery are over for Blackrod residents with a main route into the village now open again.

Motorists are celebrating after the Station Road rail bridge – which had been closed since February – reopened to traffic on Friday evening.

The closure of Station Road and diversion had caused delays for people getting in and out of Blackrod or driving to nearby Horwich.

The project saw the road over the bridge rebuilt higher in order to provide clearance for overhead rail line equipment to be installed underneath it.

This is in preparation for the electrification of the the Manchester to Preston via Bolton railway line next year.

Cllr David Chadwick, cabinet member for transport, said: “I just think the residents of Blackrod have been absolutely marvellous in dealing with this.

“Clearly they have put up with a lot of inconvenience and have learned to live with it. I really do feel for them because the situation has been difficult.

“I hope this is now going to provide them with a bit of relief. Before they were having to do a long journey round to get between Horwich and Blackrod, which is a relatively close distance.”

Cllr Chadwick praised the Network Rail engineers for completing the “major engineering project” quickly and reopening the bridge on time.

Residents had also been concerned when it was announced Grimeford Lane bridge in Adlington was due to be shut between March 6 and June 11 – the fourth in the area to close over the same period.

But shortly after the bridge first closed in early March, engineers u-turned and agreed to reopen it and postpone the work until later in the year.