The reopening of one of Kilmarnock's busiest roads was delayed for a third time before it eventually opened on Saturday night.
The Victoria Bridge on Queen's Drive has undergone extensive work to extend its life by 50 years.
But the various closures and temporary traffic lights that endured over the length of the project lead to enormous frustrations with drivers in the town.
Work started in January and was supposed to be completed by the end of April but a series of issues delayed the reopening several times.
Ayrshire Roads Alliance announced earlier this month that work would be delayed by a further week to Friday, June 24 but even that deadline was missed.
The road did fully reopen to traffic on Saturday night, 24 hours later than promised.
East Ayrshire Council said the latest delay was down to the subcontractor's availability and the wet weather.
A spokesperson for East Ayrshire Council said: "The Ayrshire Roads Alliance can confirm that the opening was 24 hours later than expected. This was as a result of subcontractor availability and wet weather impacting the works, which included significant additional concrete repair works.
"The project was never planned to complete in March, only Phase One of the works. The three phases of the works were originally planned to complete at the end of April.
"There were a number of issues that caused the project to be delayed. When the bridge was being blasted back to bare metal, PCBs were found in the blast waste, which meant a specialist contractor had to be appointed to dispose of the waste and working practices for the painting contractor had to be updated. The various services within the footway also slowed the contractor’s progress, with them having to adopt non-dig methods of excavation.
"This was a significant bridge refurbishment of a 50 year old structure. The works are expected to extend the life of the bridge structure by a further 50 years.
"The road closures associated with the Victoria Bridge Refurbishment project are now complete. The travelling public may notice footway diversions, which are required to complete outstanding minor works but any inconvenience is expected to be minimal."
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
