WORK at Church Street West in Radcliffe which has caused major traffic delays for more than eight months will be completed by the end of June, United Utilities has announced.

The road has been closed since July last year as the water company carries out major sewer improvement works, with motorists complaining of long delays at peak times because of the closure.

It was initially hoped that the £1.7 million project would have been finished by the end of March, but United Utilities say it was delayed because of heavy rain, and problems in co-ordinating other essential related works such as moving gas lines and electricity cables.

The predicted completion date comes after Bury South MP Ivan Lewis and Radcliffe West Cllr Rishi Shori were invited on a tour of the site to see for themselves how work is progressing.

Mr Lewis said: "I know that the works have caused significant disruption to commuters and local businesses.

"It was not until my site visit, however, that I fully understood the enormity of the works involved and the lasting positive difference it will make to the quality of the local environment."

The finish date for the work also has a knock-on effect for the annual Radcliffe Carnival, which is to be held on the weekend of June 6 and 7.

Andrew Clarkson, chairman of the carnival committee, said he remained hopeful that the event's parade will not be affected.

He said: "We looked at changing the date of the carnival, but we realised that this would be impractical.

"But we are hoping that if the weather stays fine that they will be finished in time for the carnival. It is a very weather-dependent job, and if certain jobs are completed quickly we hope it will be done in time.

"We will have a better idea by the end of April, but at the moment we remain hopeful."

New photogrpahs of the work undertaken — which is designed to improve the cleanliness of the River Irwell — have also been released to highlight the scale of the project.

Graham Callanan, United Utilities project manager, said: "It’s only when you see the sheer size of the structures we are building and the tight working space that you can appreciate the difficulties we’ve had working on the old Victorian sewer system.

"We’re grateful that Mr Lewis took the time to come and see the work first hand and discuss the problems that can arise working on a live sewer network next to a river in full flow.

"Most of the critical work has been completed and we are confident that we will be finished by the end of June.

"We’re doing everything we can to finish sooner than that and we thank everyone for their patience in the meantime."