A BUSY road in Port Glasgow which has been closed for months is finally set to reopen as a £650,000 bridge upgrade is completed.

Contractors working to widen Chapelton Bridge at Glen Avenue hope they will be finished by tomorrow but say the final completion date is subject to the weather.

Work has been going on since last November, causing significant disruption for local Lilybank residents and motorists.

The first phase involved diverting the water, gas and electricity utilities that ran under the bridge.

This was finished in December and the second phase, widening the bridge itself, started in March.

Contractors have been applying the finishing touches to the project this week, installing a new surface, crash barriers, kerbs, 'speed cusions' and road markings.

Councillor Michael McCormick, the convener of the environment and regeneration committee said: “We are in the home straight now but some of the final pieces of work, such as putting down the new road markings, are weather dependent.

“Our contractors are confident that they will have everything finished by Friday but we do ask people to bear with us just a little bit longer if the weather causes any additional hold ups.

"This is an important project and it will play a major role in improving road safety and cutting congestion when it’s finished."

The project is being funded by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).

Councillor David Wilson, chair of SPT’s operations committee and Inverclyde’s representative on the board, said: “Thanks to the significant funding from SPT, the new Chapelton Bridge will represent a significant improvement to the local road network, particularly in terms of creating a viable alternative route if there are problems on the A8.

"We appreciate that this work has caused a lot of disruption and we thank local people for their patience.”

The bridge widening will provide a 6.5m wide carriageway with 2m wide footways on both sides.

Roads officials say this will make it much easier for pedestrians, including pupils on their way to nearby St John’s Primary School.