MOTORISTS who use Cheshire's Thelwall Viaduct every day will have spent the equivalent of 12 days stuck in traffic over the past two and a half years.

The time wasted in what has been the North West's biggest ever traffic snarl will have been a total of almost 300 hours for the average commuter.

But now the queuing and time-wasting is finally over for the thousands who use the M6 crossing over the Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal.

Next week Thelwall Gridlock will be a memory as building work ends four months early.

The old crossing has been closed since 2002 when it was discovered that vital bearings on which the road decks sit needed replacing. It meant diverting two way traffic onto the newer second viaduct.

At a total cost of £52m it has been one of the largest ever repair projects undertaken by the Highways Agency. Thelwall Viaduct is over a mile long, stands more than 100 feet high and weighs over 58,000 tons.

The work has added a minimum 10 minutes per journey on the crossing, though at times it has taken hours to negotiate the Thelwall stretch after accidents or major breakdowns.

Add up all of those 10 minutes, throw in a little extra for the big snarl-ups and it has meant a total of 12 full days behind the wheel of the car.

The final bearings are now being put into place on the viaduct, which has been partially closed to traffic since July 2002 and, subject to final checks, engineers hope to fully re-open the northbound viaduct over December 19 and 20.

Even when the the viaduct re-opens there will still be a need to carry out resurfacing work. however this will be undertaken overnight when traffic flows are lightest.

This work will start immediately before Christmas and be completed early in the New Year.

The south bound carriageway will continue to be restricted to three narrow lanes until early February while resurfacing and work to replace expansion joints is carried out.

Highways Agency project manager David Brindle said: "The early re-opening of the viaduct will come as welcome news to the 160,000 motorists who use the M6 every day. Since the problem with the support bearings was first identified, engineers have been working round the clock to get the viaduct re-opened.

"Originally we had hoped to get the viaduct re-opened quickly, but closer inspection revealed that all 148 of the support bearings needed to be replaced and the project turned into a huge technical challenge.

"I am pleased to say the last few bearings are now being installed, and subject to no last minutes hitches we will be able to fully re-open the north bound viaduct before Christmas.

"This is part of a phased re-opening of the viaduct and restrictions will remain on the south bound viaduct while resurfacing work is carried out. There will also be some overnight closures early in January on the north bound viaduct for resurfacing before it can be completely opened.

After re-opening the viaduct to traffic, engineers will continue to work underneath the viaduct until next summer, but there will be no traffic restrictions.

The north bound viaduct was partially closed in July 2002 when a routine inspection discovered that one of the main bearings on the viaduct had failed.

When the problem was discovered the north bound viaduct was partially closed, with only one lane remaining open for an exit to Warrington at junction 21. All remaining traffic was carried on the south bound viaduct.

The motorway is carried on two viaducts, with north bound traffic on the original viaduct opened in 1963 and refurbished in 1996, and south bound traffic on the new viaduct opened eight years ago.

The bearings allow for expansion and contraction that occurs due to changes in temperature and also to allow for movement of the viaduct as it carries traffic.

To replace each of the 148 bearings it was necessary to jack up the viaduct to allow the old bearings to be removed.