Work will start a year early on the long-awaited Bingley Relief Road.

The surprise development - announced by Transport Minister Lord Whitty - means diggers could be on site by the end of the year.

And the new £60 million dual carriageway should open to traffic in 2003/4 instead of 2004/5.

Delighted Shipley MP Chris Leslie, who has been lobbying for an early start to the project, described the news as "absolutely fantastic". Government money for the huge project will be released in just eight weeks time.

Highways Agency chiefs are on the verge of inviting bids for the contract and Mr Leslie now hopes the tendering process can be fast-tracked.

"I've been pressing for speedy action on the Relief Road for a long time, and to have such concrete commitment from the Government for this scheme's completion is absolutely fantastic," he said. "The brakes are off now and the diggers will be here in a few months."

The good news for road campaigners came in an answer to a parliamentary question lodged by Mr Leslie.

Bingley is one of six schemes originally programmed for 2001/2002 but now brought forward 12 months.

The 5km section of new road will stretch from Crossflatts to Cottingley Bar roundabout, relieving traffic-choked Main Street - one of the district's worst pollution blackspots.

"The acceleration of six schemes reflects our commitment to modernising the country's transport system," Lord Whitty said. "Bringing them forward means communities suffering from the effects of heavy volumes of traffic will benefit from earlier delivery of a safer and healthier environment."

Mr Leslie said he would now contact the Highways Agency to talk about ways of speeding up the contracting process.

At the moment the Agency expects to award the contract in November or December but the MP hopes that this can now also be brought forward.

He said people in Bingley - who have been let down in the past - should now believe the road was at long last going to be a reality.

Councillor Margaret Eaton (Con, Bingley Rural) said: "This is good news but remember this is the position we were in in April 1997, so it has taken them three years to come back to where we were before. Let's hope this means action."

David Ford, of the Shipley Green Party, which has opposed the road plan, feared the new road would shift the traffic backlogs and pollution from Bingley to the Saltaire/Shipley area.

"This is advancing by a year the type of misery the people of Saltaire and Shipley will have to endure. There are implications for Saltaire's bid for World Heritage Status," he said.

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