BRIDGE repairs on a major road have been delayed, because it is too dangerous to move a 500-tonne crane in gale force winds.

Motorists face five days of traffic jams from next Thursday while work is carried out on a stretch of the A59 in Samlesbury which links Preston with Blackburn and the Ribble Valley.

The section, between the Swallow Trafalgar Hotel and the M6 junction 31 roundabout, could be closed until Tuesday, March 5.

The bridge at Gregson's Farm was hit in January by an excavator being carried on the back of a lorry. Subsequent structural checks found the deck to be unsafe and the crane was to be used to remove it.

Paul Turner, the Highways Agency project manager said: "Safety has to be our main consideration. We have been advised that wind speeds could be as strong as gale force.

The eastbound carriageway will be closed from 8pm next Thursday until Sunday March 3, while the westbound carriageway shuts at 10am on next Friday until at least Tuesday March 5.

Westbound traffic will be routed along Preston New Road-Brockholes Brow-New Hall Lane (A59) and onto London Road (A6) before turning onto Cuerdale Lane (B6230) to rejoin the A59. The reverse route will apply for eastbound traffic.