Vital bridge repairs are set to turn a Bradford village into a cul-de-sac.

And traders in Oakenshaw fear financial ruin when Railtrack closes Cleckheaton Road for more than two weeks in April, and on four subsequent weekends.

Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe has pledged to write to Transport Minister Lord Whitty to demand improvements to the M606 which he fears will be hit by additional traffic during the works.

Shop owners claim they were not consulted about the closure and first heard about it from a worker at Ciba Speciality Chemicals in Low Moor.

Bakery owner Paul Bostock said: "This could finish a lot of people off. We rely on passing trade. I reckon about 80 per cent of our customers stop while driving through.''

Terry Fannon, owner of Oakenshaw News and Off-licence, said he was considering closing his shop while the work was on.

The Cleckheaton Road bridge has been reduced to a single lane, managed by traffic lights, since subsidence was discovered two years ago.

On Saturday the T&A reported the M606 southbound had suffered major congestion since the Highways Agency reduced an access road to the M62 eastbound from two lanes to one last month.

The move, introduced to ease traffic flow on the M62 heading to Leeds, has caused morning rush hour jams on all roads heading from Bradford and Halifax to the Chain Bar roundabout at Junction 26.

Mr Sutcliffe said: "Shutting the road is bad news for traders and it will increase pressure on the M606. We need the motorway link road from the M606 to the M62 to be built now.''

A Railtrack spokesman said the road would be closed from April 8 to 25 and each weekend until May 28. She said: "We can only apologise for any inconvenience caused and we are planning to notify residents of the work next week and hold a public meeting.''

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