AFTER months of delays and traffic chaos, work on the A2/M2 widening scheme is still nowhere near completion.

Heavy rain dating back to the end of 2001 and constant damp conditions since last spring has caused work to grind to a halt, putting the development a further six months behind schedule.

Saturated chalk is to blame for the delay as workmen at the site find it increasingly unmanageable and wait for better weather to allow it some time to dry out.

Spokesman for the Highways Agency, Mel Glazer, said: "It has taken longer than was first anticipated, mainly due to the extensive periods of wet weather.

"The chalk becomes unworkable when wet so we have had to wait for it to dry out. But we hope that the majority of work to this stretch of the widening will be done around June."