Relief as one of Burnley's busiest roads that was closed for 11 months for major improvement works re-opens

But the £3M project, which will see the the junction of Accrington Road, Rosegrove Lane and Rossendale Road widened, is still not finished and work is expected to continue until the spring.

In a statement this afternoon Coun. Keith Iddon, who is cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "I am pleased to confirm that we were able to reopen Accrington Road to through traffic on Saturday.

"In terms of the work, the majority of the utility services have now been diverted and resurfacing work carried out.

"The next stage will see widening of the east side of Accrington Road to create a slip road from Rosegrove Lane and a new bus layby, together with the commissioning of permanent traffic signals, with work expected to continue into the Spring.

"In the meantime, temporary traffic signals have been introduced which will ensure that traffic is able to flow through the area, and it is hoped there will be no need to reinstate a full closure.

"Local residents, businesses and key stakeholders have been kept informed about the progress of the work at this very busy junction.

"We're grateful for the understanding that many people have already shown in recognising the need for this scheme, and we're sorry for the inconvenience."

Work began in early November last year on the project, that was due to be completed in 12 months, to widen the junction of Accrington Road, Rosegrove Lane and Rossendale Road close to junction 9 of the M65 to manage traffic congestion as the area grows.

The project represents a particular engineering challenge as there are a large number of services and utilities which need to be rerouted to allow the highway improvement to take place, with major fibre communication and broadband cables, gas, water and electricity pipes all passing through the junction.

Lancashire County Council was able to keep all four arms of the junction open during the first phase of the work to minimise the impact on residents and businesses.

The scheme is one of the final parts of a programme of improvements to junctions and nearby local roads from Junction 7 at Accrington to Junction 13 at Barrowford, known as the Hyndburn-Burnley-Pendle Growth Corridor.

The programme, which is worth more than £12m in total, is part of the £320m Growth Deal secured from government by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and includes contributions from Lancashire County Council and Burnley, Pendle and Hyndburn councils.

A contribution to the work at Rose Grove will also come from the Department for Transport's local pinch point fund.