by Dan Bloom

A main road and railway line through Strood remains closed today (Friday) after work to replace an ageing rail bridge was delayed.

The well-known bottleneck under the railway bridge in Cuxton Road, next to the roundabout with Northcote Road and Darnley Road, was due to be reopened this morning after being shut for a four-day stretch.

Workmen have been at the site since Christmas Eve replacing the entire bridge on a part of the Rochester to London Victoria mainline, nicknamed the Darnley Arches.

But now it is not expected to be open until tomorrow morning (Saturday) after workers discovered more work than originally thought was needed.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “When we took the deck off we found there was a lot more work to do than originally thought so it is taking longer than expected. The weather is not helping either.

"We are hoping to have it reopened by tomorrow morning.”