A combination of factors created a nightmare commute for motorists in the Aire Valley during yesterday’s peak periods.

Some travellers reported journey times of an hour and 40 minutes to drive the seven miles between Bingley and Bradford city centre, with traffic bumper-to-bumper on Toller Lane.

Highway bosses at Bradford Council said the gridlock was down to a number of factors, including people driving more slowly due to icy road conditions and traditionally high traffic volumes in early February when fewer people are away on holiday.

Repair work at Ireland Bridge – set to continue for six months – is being blamed for pushing traffic on to different routes around Bingley.

Traffic was further hindered by the temporary closure of Main Street, Wilsden, following a collision at 8.48am between a Vauxhall Movano van and Audi A6 car. One person was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary by ambulance with a hand injury.

Ghulam Rubani, co-owner of the Shama restaurant in Keighley Road, Bingley, who was making his way into Bradford from his home in Wilsden, said: “There was a lot of congestion on the Bingley bypass and it was a bottleneck from Saltaire and Cottingley.

“I think it’s all to do with Ireland Bridge. That is causing traffic to be shunted down that way.”

Councillor David Heseltine, (Con, Bingley), who drove to work in Bradford through Sandy Lane yesterday morning, said traffic was “very heavy.”

He also attributed some of the problems to the Ireland Bridge closure and added that traffic became congested in Thornton Road, possibly due to ongoing work to repair a burst water pipe in Cemetery Road, Lidget Green.

Another collision happened in Lynfield Drive, Chellow Grange, at 10.42am yesterday involving a lorry and bus. No injuries were reported and gritters were called to treat the road.

Meanwhile, a Citroen car went into a garden on Cote Farm Lane, Thackley, at 8.25am. No injuries were reported and the driver arranged for the recovery of his vehicle.

Thomas Crompton, who owns the Bradford-based plant hire company of the same name, said: “Our wagons have been having serious problems on the roads.

“We are very disappointed that the roads are not being gritted – it’s costing us a fortune in lost revenue, which is really affecting our business.

“The essential works at Ireland Bridge and on the M62 are something we accept and plan for because it’s best in the long run, but it’s the lack of salting that’s affecting our business.”

Joe Grint, principal engineer for the Council, said: “February is one of the busier months of the year for people on the roads in the district as people tend not to take holidays at this time of year.

“When we undertake traffic surveys we often find quite large fluctuations from day-to-day.

“The morning and evening commuting times are obviously the busiest times of day and people sensibly taking care in the icy weather does result in traffic flowing more slowly than usual.

“There are roadworks on the A650 near the Branch pub in Shipley which has caused traffic to back up. Our signal engineers will be seeing what can be done at the junction to improve the situation while the roadworks are taking place.

“The closure of Ireland Bridge has also had an impact on traffic in the local area. Otherwise we are not aware of any major issues around the Bradford area which would cause the additional congestion that has been reported.”