ENGINEERS repairing a bridge on Square Hill Road in Maidstone will take three weeks longer than expected to finish the job.

Babtie, the county council's contractors, were due to finish resurfacing the bridge next week, but unforeseen complications mean the work will not now be completed until Friday, October 25.

Regular users of the road have been upset about how long it has taken to complete the roadworks which began on July 29.

Frank Hall, of Brockenhurst Avenue, Maidstone, said: "It took less time than this to completely relay the A26 through Wateringbury. Meanwhile, traffic across Wat Tyler Way is in gridlock."

The county council has apologised for the disruption caused to motorists by the roadworks, but insists it could not have been avoided.

KCC spokeswoman Rachel Moon said: "In some bridges it is difficult to anticipate what will happen when work starts without carrying out extensive research, which would necessitate even longer road closures.

"In this case some service pipes were found which needed to be examined before the engineers could start work. A number of utility companies have been on the site and it has made things difficult. It is also a restricted nature site, which complicates things further."