MOTORISTS already suffering rush-hour delays during repairs to a city centre bridge have been hit with news that the work may continue for up tom 11 months.

The Queen Alexandra Bridge in Sunderland has been closed to northbound traffic since March, with work originally expected to take just under a year to complete.

However, Sunderland City Council announced yesterday that despite extensive pre-contract investigations, the job has proved bigger than anticipated and may not finish until next September.

It appears that when contractors, Mowlem, removed the old lead-based paint, almost a century of wear and tear to the original steel structure was revealed.

Phil Barrett, the city council's director of development and regeneration, said: "We found that more of the steel work was in need of repair than could have been envisaged at the outset."

Millscale deposits are having to be carefully removed from the steel so that the high performance paint will provide better protection for many years to come.

Mowlem is looking at ways to increase manpower and working procedures to tackle the areas that were not previously anticipated.

Mr Barrett said: "We are grateful for the patience of the motorists in Sunderland who have helped minimise disruption by re-planning their journeys. We will continue to closely monitor progress and look for any opportunities to improve on these timescales."

This is the first time the steel work has been exposed since the bridge was built in 1909.