MISERABLE motorists are smiling again after the opening of a key bridge at Sadlers Farm cut journey times in half.

Drivers have had to contend with hours of delays since work first started to simplify the busy Benfleet roundabout in 2010.

Now, drivers are finally starting to see the benefits of the £63million roadworks scheme after the new Sadlers Farm Bridge, linking the Southend-bound A13 to the A130 towards Canvey, was finally opened, albeit two weeks behind schedule.

Graham Bracci, 62, of Holland Avenue, Canvey, said: “Traffic has improved a great deal since the new overpass opened at the weekend. It has been taking me nearly an hour and half every night to get home, but I am pleased to say it is now only about 45 minutes.”

Hazel Langford, 48, of Maurice Road, Canvey, said: “Getting home these past few months has been a nightmare, sometimes taking nearly three hours to do an hour’s journey which is just a joke.

“So it came as a pleasant surprise to make it home in just over an hour on Monday. There were some queues on the new bridge when you got to the roundabout, but it wasn’t bad.”

The rest of the major works won’t be finished until June 8, after the Jubilee bank holiday.

Contractors have yet to install the new traffic lights on the roundabout and open the southbound section of a key link road that will allow drivers travelling from the Chelmsford-bound A130 to the London-bound A13 to bypass the main roundabout.

However, despite congestion easing on the A13, drivers are sceptical as to whether or not the new traffic lights will work in the long term.

Mr Bracci said: “Whether this continues, and whether the traffic light system will actually work and make travelling home any better, only time will tell.

“I am a little bit reserved to let myself believe this is a sign of things to come.”

Derrick Louis, Essex county councillor responsible for highways, said: “This is an important milestone for the completion of the Sadlers Farm improvement scheme, which will bring further improvements and provide faster and more reliable journey’s for thousands of motorists.”