A BRIDGE over the troubled Sadlers Farm roadworks has finally opened two weeks late.

The Sadlers Farm Bridge, which connects the Southend-bound carriageway of the A13 to the A130 towards Canvey opened on Friday night renewing hopes the end of the huge £63million revamp is in sight.

Now engineers just need to complete the southbound carriageway of a new link road and put in new traffic lights at the roundabout, with the works not due to finish until June 8.

The Sadlers Farm Bridge was supposed to open two weeks ago, but was delayed because of the wet weather, which meant a special waterproof surfacing could not be put down.

Motorists hope the new bridge will ease congestion.

James McMillan, 54, of Grasmere Road, Canvey, used the bridge for the first time at the weekend.

He said: “There was a bit of queuing because the A13 was closed to one lane, but other than that it was smooth sailing.

“The good thing is it was well signposted.

“Time will tell whether this finally eases congestion, especially when the traffic lights are installed. The problem really is Tarpots because that is just causing everything to back right up to Sadlers.

“I am just relived it’s almost over, these last few months have been a nightmare getting home.

“Some nights we’ve been sitting in queues for three hours, it’s been ridiculous.”

The delay to the bridge work caused the entire project to run behind and won’t now be finished on May 31 as had been previously predicted by Essex County Council.

A finish of June 8 will mean the roadworks continue into the busy Queen’s Diamond Jubilee bank holiday weekend, from June 2 to June 5.

Derrick Louis, county councillor responsible for highways and transportation, said: “I am very pleased the Sadlers Farm Bridge is now open to traffic.

“We have worked hard to get the bridge open at the earliest opportunity, despite the heavy rainfall throughout April, and I apologise for the delay in this and any inconvenience it has caused.

“This is an important milestone for the Sadlers Farm improvement scheme. As the project nears completion I hope that local residents will soon be able to benefit from the significantly improved journey times.”