Engineering works on Nene Thorpe Bridge began today and caused misery for motorists battling to get to work on time.

And the misery is expected to last for a further four weeks.

One driver branded the roadworks a nightmare as his journey into work ground to a halt in the gridlock.

Trevor Mills joined the A47 at Dogsthorpe Roundabout just after 8am and found traffic at a standstill all the way down to the Thorpe Road roundabout.

He said: "I have been stuck here for half an hour.

"I shall probably go through town tomorrow to get to Oundle Road.

"There are very few routes available from the north of the city to the south, so it looks like it's going to be like this for the next four weeks.

"It has been a nightmare this morning."

MOTORISTS have faced delays of up to an hour this morning as contraflows set up around the Carpenter's Lodge junction upgrade at Stamford brought traffic to a standstill at times.

Another motorist, Keith Sharp, had seen his 10-minute journey stretch to more than half an hour.

Mr Sharp said: "It took me 20 minutes to go two miles, and in front of me all I could see were cars backed up.

"The inside lane was at a complete standstill, and the outside lane was crawling.

"I had no idea when I was going to make it into work.

Peterborough City Council contractors are carrying out waterproofing and road resurfacing work in the latest stage of a £1.86 million scheme to strengthen the bridge.

For commuters, the traffic misery is set to continue as work is expected to last four weeks, and will include narrow lanes and a reduced speed limit.

Temporary speed cameras have also been put in place for the duration of the work on both sides of the A1260 – a mandatory requirement.

Repairs began earlier this year on the bridge, which spans the River Nene, Nene Valley Railway and a section of Nene Park, after safety inspections revealed that parts of the structure were corroded.

The resurfacing work coincides with an ongoing road widening operation on the A1139 Fletton Parkway.

Similar lane narrowing and speed restrictions are in place on Fletton Parkway, near the junction with the A1260.

Further works are being planned at the Thomas Cook roundabout, where the Nene Parkway joins the A47, for traffic lights to be installed at the end of next month.