MOTORISTS on one of Southampton's busiest routes were hit by long delays into the city last night while roadworks were carried out.

Resurfacing work on the Millbrook flyover A33 meant the bridge was closed eastbound - towards the city centre - from 10am yesterday until 6am this morning, which meant thousands of motorists on their way home from work last night were diverted during rush hour.

Cameras showed that during the day traffic was tailing back to the A35 Redbridge flyover and several hundred metres along the M271.

The closure caused frustration for drivers caught up in the traffic.

June Boxall, 52, from Shirley, said: "They could have chosen a better time of day to do this. This has caused chaos because it's right in the middle of rush hour."

Paul Crouch from Freemantle said: "We know the work needs to be done but it really is ridiculous doing it now. They were doing other work on the flyover not so long ago and it's a real pain."

The works form the last stage of the strengthening programme for the flyover, which began last year.

The final work will be carried out tonight when the westbound section will close from 8pm until 3.30pm tomorrow, with further queues expected, particularly during the rush-hour period.

The £1.3m maintenance programme was started last June and was expected to take six months to complete. The widths of both the east and westbound dual carriageways across the flyover were narrowed to allow workmen access to repair the flyover's parapets.

Speed limits were slashed from 50mph to 30mph.

A van from the Road Safety Partnership used hi-tech mobile speed cameras on both the western and eastern ends of the flyover after contractors carrying out repairs complained of drivers flouting the 30mph speed limit.

Trucks and buses were also banned from using the flyover, with commercial vehicles diverted to the roundabout underneath.

Occasionally the bridge was closed to all traffic on one side.

The scheme forms part of a five-year road improvement programme costing £18m, which was given the go-ahead by city highways bosses in early 2004.

The speed limit returned to 50mph on December 10 - but only in one direction. Confusion reigned when temporary 30mph signs were removed overnight on the westbound carriageway. Eastbound lanes remained at 30mph for a further week.

The maintenance work on the Millbrook flyover follows 30 months of work on the Mountbatten Way flyover - on the same route.