COUNCILLORS fear residential roads will be used as rat runs by drivers trying to avoid upgrading work on the bridge on Kidderminster's busy A449 Chester Road North.

Mike and Fran Oborski, both Worcestershire county councillors representing areas that will be affected, had a sneak preview of what was in store during a public exhibition.

The exhibition, arranged by the Highways Agency, explained the purpose and implications of the bridge strengthening work - costing £335,000 - which gets under way on Sunday.

The bridge, near Chester Road Sports and Social Club, carries the road over the Kidderminster to Stourbridge Junction railway line.

Road and rail commuters will be affected by the 10-week project, while overnight working noise is likely to be heard by residents.

Following the exhibition, which was attended by around 80 members of the public, Mr and Mrs Oborski issued a joint statement.

They said: "During this period, the road will be down to a single lane controlled by temporary traffic lights. This is one of the most heavily used roads in the area so there are bound to be extensive delays.

"The Highways Agency has kept local residents in the vicinity informed but everyone across the district who uses the A449 Chester Road North needs to realise what is happening and look for alternative routes or allow for possibly lengthy delays."

A diversion will operate from the Comberton Hill junction, down Comberton Hill, along the ring road and up Coventry Street and Birmingham Road to the Land Oak junction.

In their statement, Mr and Mrs Oborski said: "The problem is that Comberton Hill and Birmingham Road are, themselves, already extremely busy roads and any diverted traffic will certainly add very greatly to the pressure on those roads.

"We are also extremely worried about what will happen at the Comberton Road-Chester Road junction traffic lights and at the Land Oak junction traffic lights. There could be real problems at both junctions."

They also feared some nearby residential roads could, effectively, become unofficial "diversion" routes, compounding the problems.

A spokeswoman for the Highways Agency said: "We're spreading the word as much as we can and urge people to allow more time for their journeys, particularly in the first few days, until the traffic pattern has settled down."

She added that "quite a few people" attending the exhibition welcomed the work because they felt the existing bridge barriers were not sufficient.