DRIVERS are being warned to prepare for 18 months of problems as roadworks start on a busy dual carriageway.

The A66 Surtees Bridge, near Stockton, which carries 55,000 vehicles a day, will be demolished and rebuilt in a £14.3m project.

Work will start on Monday and last until next September, with the four-lane bridge over the River Tees replaced by six lanes.

From Monday, the westbound slip road from the A1045 from Thornaby will be closed and traffic diverted through Stockton, over the Victoria Bridge, to join the A66 at the Stockton link road interchange.

The other slip roads at the A1045 junction will remain open until Easter.

After that, the work will see all traffic transferred to the eastbound carriageway to allow the westbound side of the bridge to be demolished and then rebuilt.

When the traffic is switched to one side of the bridge, it will be running in narrow lanes to accommodate four lanes on the more restricted section.

Arun Sahni, project leader for the Highways Agency, said: "A lot of work has gone into getting us to this position, but now the work of balancing the needs of the programme with the requirements of the drivers starts.

"The Surtees Bridge carries on average 55,000 vehicles a day, so we are working to keep two lanes of traffic running in both directions through the morning and evening peak periods, but with a restricted speed limit of 30mph.

"At other times in the day, we may have to reduce lanes further and occasionally have full closures of the bridge overnight.

"This is to make sure drivers and our workforce are safe throughout the works period.

"There will also be a dedicated bus service to take pedestrians and cyclists across the bridge.

"We would ask all road users to approach this section of the A66 with care over the next 18 months and be ready to obey any warning and diversion signs."