THEY have caused misery for thousands of motorists, but urgent roadworks to repair crash barriers on Southampton's busiest road have been completed ahead of schedule.

Southampton City Council said the work to replace more than 200 metres of the central reservation on Millbrook Road West had been finished in “record time”.

It has taken just over two weeks for contractors Balfour Beatty to complete the work, which the authority had said needed to be done in time for Saturday's visit of the Olympic torch relay.

One lane in each direction has been closed between Millbrook flyover and Waterhouse Lane throughout the work, causing severe delays, especially during the morning and evening rush hours.

City transport boss, Cllr Asa Thorpe said: “There's no easy way of saying this, but these works were always going to cause delays for motorists.

“Road safety is our main concern and we had a window of opportunity to replace the crash barriers.

“This work needed doing and doing urgently before someone got seriously hurt. I apologise again for the delays caused and thank motorists for their patience over the last week.”