IT'S THE Christmas present Southampton motorists have been dreaming of.

Just days short of their second anniversary, repairs are finally starting behind the cones blocking the inside lanes of the Mountbatten Way flyover.

After several false starts, work began on the bridge yesterday, bringing the curtain down on a saga of gaffes and confusion which has left motorists fuming.

Drivers queuing past the row of cones blocking the inside lane have been left baffled, as day after day, month after month, the bridge remained a work free zone.

It has been an incredible 719 days of inaction since surveyors said an accident had weakened the bridge. Since then, millions of motorists have crawled past the cones and their 30mph speed limit on the busy city artery.

One year ago, road experts at the city council admitted it was the longest time cones had ever been in place waiting for repair work to start.

Now, the Guinness Book of Records is weighing up whether they are the longest roadworks in history.

But preliminary work to divert two high voltage cables has finally been carried out, allowing workmen to get on with doing the job of fitting new parapets to the bridge to make it safe.

Ironically, the city council now says the work has been designed to "lessen the impact on road users and delays will be kept to a minimum".

The run-up to the repairs, which are expected to cost £350,000 and continue until May, has been dogged by confusion.

The work requires closure of the railway line below, but when the Daily Echo contacted railway management company Railtrack one year ago, it denied all knowledge of the works and the cones had already been up for a year.

The Daily Echo also learnt that the London to Weymouth line had been closed midway through 2001 for other essential work and if Railtrack had been informed, work on the bridge could have been done then. One year ago, city transport boss Councillor Richard Williams said Railtrack had been informed of the accident but not of the need for a closure of the line.

Today he said: "It is vital that we work closely with Railtrack and the police to ensure safety on both the roads and the railway."

A spokeswoman for AA branded the roadworks saga "ludicrous".

She said: "I think motorists in Southampton will be extremely frustrated by now. It's nearly two years. I know roadworks have a reputation for overrunning but this is the worst I have ever heard and it must have caused immense frustration."

ARE you fed up with any endless roadworks near you? If so let us know by contacting the Daily Echo's Road Rage Ron on 023 8042 4520 or e-mail newsdesk@soton-echo.co.uk