Roadworks in St John’s will finish well behind schedule and are now due to be completed by the end of April.

Following consultation with the Department of Infrastructure, contractors Island Drainage and Groundworks Ltd have applied to extend the road closure on Curragh Road, with a new end date of ’no later than April 30’.

The road closed on Monday October 21 and was supposed to reopen after 13 weeks, giving an end date of about January 20.

However, as the work progressed, it became clear that ground conditions were far worse than anticipated and there were other issues that needed to be tackled before the new road surface is laid.

The initial scope of the project was also expanded to include rebuilding the junctions with the Heritage Trail near the western recycling centre.

In a statement, the department’s highways division said: ’This means that when the work on the Heritage Trail reaches the Curragh Road there will be no further disruption to road users.’

It added: ’The project has taken longer than estimated as is was found that ground conditions in parts of the site were far worse than anticipated and therefore have required more preparative works to ensure the longevity and quality of the new road.

’Other additional work which had not been foreseen includes a large culvert that was found to have collapsed, this had to be demolished and piped into the new drainage system.

’A water main was found to clash with the new outfall for the drainage system and had to be diverted.’

The spokesman added: ’Despite the difficult conditions which have caused time delays the goals of the project are being achieved.’