DRIVERS have been warned to prepare for extended journey times due to roadworks taking place on the Erskine Bridge for the next two weekends.

As part of a £3.25 million investment by Transport Scotland, work on the top of the bridge's two lighting towers will start on Saturday, September 17.

Contractor Lightways will access the towers to replace the existing aircraft navigation lamps with new LED lights.

Operatives will be working at heights of 40 metres above the bridge deck, so to protect both the workforce and road users, offside lane closures will be required in both directions on the weekends of September 17-18 and September 24-25.

Traffic management will be in operation from 6am to 6pm each day. It is expected that journey times will increase by approximately 45 minutes and road users are advised to plan ahead using Traffic Scotland’s website and Twitter feed for real time traffic information.

Scotland TranServ is currently overseeing the 28 week programme which will result in up to 70% in energy savings for Transport Scotland.

Andy Fraser from Scotland TranServ said: “We have considered all the available options for carrying out this work and the safest way for the contractor to access the towers and install the new lighting is during daylight hours under offside lane closures.

“Delays are expected to be around 45 minutes therefore we would urge road users to plan ahead and leave plenty of time for their journeys.”

The cycle and pedestrian lanes on the eastbound side of the bridge will remain closed during the works with the westbound side operating as normal.