WORKS to repair the A38 Dobwalls Bypass are set to be completed next week, the Highways Agency has announced.

The major drainage scheme, costing £10.6m, has been under way for the last eight months, with first the westbound and more recently the eastbound carriageway closed to traffic. A contraflow system has been in place during the works.

Contractors have completely rebuilt a 1.5km section of the road, introducing a thick rock blanket to act as a drainage layer. Water had been found to be coming through the surface of the road, causing ice and dangerous conditions during cold weather.

Work is due to be finished and the road fully reopened by Thursday, May 21, ahead of the bank holiday weekend. Investigations into the cause of the fault are still ongoing, said an agency spokesperson, with results expected in the autumn. The agency has stated that, in agreement with contractors Interserve, no cost will be borne by the taxpayer if it is found that mistakes were made in the original £53.3m construction of the road in 2008.