MORE than £1 million of repairs to motorway bridges near the West Swindon junction of the M4 will start next week, the Highways Agency has announced.

The work, which will last for the next four months, is likely to cause tailbacks and congestion for motorists, especially during the rush hour.

A similar project to the main motorway bridge on the West Swindon junction of the M4 caused chaos over the summer.

Huge queues built up and frustrated drivers put themselves and other road users in danger by making U-turns in the middle of the road.

The latest repair work will affect seven overbridges and underbridges between junction 16 of the M4 and junction 18 at Bath, the majority of them nearest to Swindon.

On the motorway underneath each of the overbridges there will be lane closures, a 50mph speed limit and speed cameras.

Grittenham Overbridge at the village of Grittenham near Swindon will be the first to be tackled, with work starting on the motorway on Monday.

It will stop on December 15 for Christmas and then re-start on January 8 when the overbridge itself will be closed for a maximum of seven weeks.

Work to the motorway at Hook Overbridge, Dodford Farm Overbridge and Dauntsey Green Overbridge will also begin on this date.

Hook Overbridge itself will be closed, like Grittenham, for a maximum of seven weeks, from January 8, while Dodford Farm will have lane closures.

Work to Dauntsey Green Overbridge starts earlier, from next Monday.

At the underbridges at Ballard's Ash at Wootton Bassett, Hookers Gate north of Wootton Bassett and Stanton St Quinton near Chippenham, repairs also start on Monday for up to seven weeks.

These roads run beneath the M4 and will see 24-hour traffic signals in operation keeping just one lane open.

The entire project is costing £1,200,000 and is being carried out by contractors Costain Ltd based in Hampshire.

Highways Agency project manager Andrew Alcorn said: "This section of the motorway is 29 years old. Routine inspections of the bridges have revealed a gradual failure of bearings, sections of the abutments and the waterproofing layer.

"To provide a safe and reliable motorway network it is essential that these bridge repairs are completed.

"The Highways Agency and the contractor will make every effort to minimise disruption to journeys although some delays may be experienced at peak times on the motorway."