DRIVERS using the region's busiest road face an extra six months of motoring misery after officials admitted a £380m upgrade of the A1 won't be finished until the end of the year.

The scheme to improve a 12 mile stretch of the A1 between Leeming and Barton by replacing worn out dual carriageway with three lane motorway started in March 2014 and was due to finish in June.

But officials admitted last night that infrastructure problems, and a number of unexpected archaeological finds, mean the upgrade won't be completed until December.

The section of road, which is used by up to 69,000 vehicles a day, is subject to a mandatory 50mph speed limit and monitored by average speed cameras. Thousands of drivers have been caught speeding since the roadworks began.

Last night the leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Cllr Carl Les, said the delay would add to motorists' frustration and pose a headache for nearby residents.

He said: “I’m very disappointed to hear of serious delays to this project.

“The communities around the works, on both sides of the A1, have suffered three years of disruption and inconvenience.

“Clearly Roman archaeology has had a big impact and has delayed the job.

“I understand that five tonnes of artefacts have been unearthed, some of international significance.

“But problems that would have been sorted 12 months ago are only now coming to light."

Cllr Les has met with Highways England officials to urge them to complete parts of the scheme as soon as possible and said a completion date at the end of the year is the “worst case scenario” as elements may be finished sooner.

He added: “I understand the new motorway south of Catterick is almost complete, so I would hope that will be opened up, with no 50mph speed limit, for the benefit of the A1 users, many of whom will be local residents.”

Cllr Les said he has expressed his concern about the delays to Highways England officials but hopes that if elements such as linking the local access road into the new junction 52 are finished sooner than December it will ease the pressure for motorists and nearby residents.

Highways England confirmed that it does expect to have the southern section of the works completed by late summer, but it could be December before the whole project is finished.

A spokesman said: “The extensive archaeological finds discovered along the route – which will prove historically significant for future generations – will impact the scheme completion date.

“Delays to the programme of work have also been caused by power cables and utilities in the area and these combined factors mean that the scheme will now be completed by the end of the year.

“We expect to open the southern section of the scheme – which will increase capacity between Leeming and Catterick Central – in late summer.”