AFTER months of traffic chaos in central Blackburn, the end is in view.

Motorists have faced long jams since major excavation work off Copy Nook, Bottomgate and Furthergate to widen the roads – but it is slowly coming to an end.

Council contractors have been laying tarmac ready for buses to carry passengers in and out of town as part of the multi-million pound Pennine Reach Scheme.

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Brian Bailey, director of regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “Work at the Furthergate link road is progressing well, as contractors begin to tarmac and surface sections of new highway.

“This is a key part of the council’s investment in the borough’s infrastructure, which will promote faster travel and access sites for future investment and jobs growth.”

The work has involved mechanical diggers for duct crossings and new pedestrian/traffic islands as part of the Furthergate Link Road scheme of Pennine Reach.

The scheme is due for completion next summer. Higher Audley Street is closed until late June early July at the junction from Copy Nook for new drainage connections to be installed.

Eventually there will be bus priority in both directions between Copy Nook and Burnley Road with a widened highway on the south side of the existing carriageway.

This section of the £40 million scheme, to speed buses between Hyndburn, Blackburn, and Darwen, includes major improvements to provide a new junction adjacent to Burnley Close to aid traffic flow to M65 Junction 6 and traffic signals to give buses priority at the new Burnley Road junction and at Accrington Road inbound to Blackburn town centre between Patten Street and Croston Street.

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said over-running works in Burnley on the main route from the M65 Junction 10 to the town centre had now been finished.

The spokesman added: “Through a mix of highway improvements, new technology and high quality buses operating along improved routes with greater ticketing choices, Pennine Reach is designed to make public transport more attractive and a real alternative to the private car.”