A MAJOR road widening scheme on a key route into Barnsley town centre will take longer to complete than anticipated and enter its fourth year of construction - after leaders behind the project revealed delays have been encountered.

The Chronicle can reveal that work on Old Mill Lane - which was due to be completed this summer - will run into the winter, with an expected finish time of early 2027 being forecast.

As one of the main routes into the town centre, work - which was started in early 2024 by Balfour Beatty - will continue in order to provide a new five-lane carriageway consisting of four traffic lanes and a bus lane over the widened bridge over the River Dearne.

However, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), the body overseeing the £15m scheme, confirmed to the Chronicle that delays had been encountered.

A SYMCA spokesperson said: “At Old Mill Lane we have made a significant investment to make getting about in Barnsley easier.

“A modelling exercise, feasibility study and option selection report were undertaken to review potential measures to improve bus journey times and reliability on this busy bus corridor.

“The project will reduce journey times, ease congestion on the A61 and improve the reliability of bus journeys, including through a new five-lane layout and dedicated southbound bus lane on Old Mill Lane’s bridge.

“The majority of the works have now been completed.

“We’re working with partners and, while it means the programme will now run into winter 2026/2027, we’re focused on getting it right so people can rely on improvements that last.

“We’re very sorry for the disruption caused by this delay and are working as hard as we can to complete the work as quickly as possible while maintaining the quality of the final outcome.”

The road was put forward for improvements following a public consultation in 2021, with studies finding it was one of the town’s biggest blackspots for traffic.

Key delay points were identified at a number of junctions along the route and several interventions were proposed including the widening, a dedicated bus lane and junction and signalling improvements to speed up its flow.

Work commenced on February 19, 2024 to allow the work site to be established.

The new bridge beams have been placed in position, the deck has been set and the river access road formed.

Drainage works have commenced and gas meters have been relocated, but unforeseen utilities issues arose - leading to an estimated six months being added on to its completion date.

“As can happen on any job of this scale, we’ve run into a few unexpected issues with utility works,” the spokesperson added.

“The objectives are to better connect areas in a safe and sustainable way, improve bus and general traffic journey times during peak periods on the A61 corridor and improve air quality.

“The widening will increase the traffic capacity on the bridge as well as providing an opportunity for future active travel provisions.”