MOTORISTS on the M65 were warned that they could face delays from next week when a £2.6 million resurfacing project gets under way.

The motorway between junction seven at Huncoat and Junction 10 at Burnley will be affected by roadworks for at least two months while the work, which starts on Monday, is carried out.

And while contra flows will be in operation, motorists are advised to allow extra time for their journeys.

Highways Agency project manager Roy Wood said: "The existing surface is badly cracked and needs to be renewed to maintain road safety. Some traffic delays may be expected but this will be kept to a minimum with two lanes of traffic flowing in each direction."

The roadworks are the latest to disrupt traffic travelling along the M65 but a spokesman for the Central Office of Information said they were not due to the huge increase in the number of vehicles using the route since the extention was opened in December 1997.

"The repairs are part of a rolling maintenance programme and although there certainly has been an increase in traffic since the southern part of the M65 was opened it is not the specific reason for the road being resurfaced. "But safety is of paramount importance on roads and the fact there are more people using this motorway makes the work even more urgent."

Contractors Tilcon (North), who are carrying out the work, expect to have it finished by the end of April.

The COI spokesman added: "The contractor is given an amount of time to carry out the work and if it goes beyond that he will start to incur financial penalties. This is to ensure this work causes the minimum amount of disruption to people using the road."

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