MAJOR roadworks on one of the district's busiest roads will continue for three months longer than first announced.

Bradford Council has revealed it will be August before the Canal Road widening project is completed, not this month as announced when the project began last year.

The roadworks, which have included the speed limit being reduced to 20mph for a stretch, have been causes frustration for motorists travelling between Bradford and Shipley.

The £3.8 million project to widen the road by two lanes started in June, and involves creating new man-made culverts for Bradford Beck.

It is the work to the beck that has caused the hold up - the council says its "rapidly changing" flow rate means contractors have to be extra careful when carrying out the works.

The roadworks has been funded jointly by Bradford Council and the Department for Transport through the Local Pinch Point fund and are intended to reduce traffic congestion in what is one of the most consistently busy roads in Bradford.

It is estimated about 27,500 car journeys per day are made on the road, which usually becomes particularly congested during peak-time rush hours. The road works have added to the congestion, but the council says when they are completed it will reduce journey times.

In the past few days signs warning motorists about the roadworks have been altered, with the estimated completion date of May 2015 being changed to August 2015.

The project, being carried out by North Midland Construction, involves the creation of a short length of dual carriageway, near the North of England Wools building, as well as the introduction of traffic signals at the Stanley Road junction.

The expansion of the road involves changes to the flow of Bradford Beck, which passes under Canal Road. Diverting the beck has involved concrete channels being installed on the site, providing the beck with a new route.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: "The completion of the roadworks has been extended due to the complex work undertaken to rebuild and extend the Bradford Beck culvert which is an essential part of the this scheme.

"We have to carry out the work whilst the beck is still flowing and the flow rate can change rapidly within the confined nature of the site, so we have to very careful when we descend into the culvert."