THE leader of Worcestershire County Council has hailed a major boost for the Carrington Bridge - saying he's "delighted" to have found a significant cross-boundary ally.

As your Worcester News revealed last Friday, Herefordshire has joined the campaign to secure £70 million to dual the congested south Worcester route, saying it would benefit the entire south Midlands region.

The intervention has been welcomed at County Hall, with leader Councillor Adrian Hardman today saying the bridge's delays are even holding back Worcester's links with areas mid-Wales.

The backing from Herefordshire Council was secured by Worcester MP Robin Walker, with the bordering authority saying the A4440's "unpredictable and costly delays" are harming private investment.

Cllr Hardman said: "I'm absolutely delighted Herefordshire has got involved and that our colleagues over the boundary are now supporting this so strongly.

"I talked to an engineering firm in Bromyard and they said the Carrington Bridge can add 45 minutes onto journeys - there's a real cost to that and it applies to us all.

"And it's not only us in Worcester who use it to commute, it's a major arterial route for businesses and people in Leominster, mid-Wales, the A44 to Aberystwyth, we tend to forget that.

"So Herefordshire Council supporting us is very helpful indeed and I'm delighted for Robin Walker's help on this."

The letter from Herefordshire Council also says it believes "essential business" is being lost by the bridge remaining single-track in either direction.

In January Cllr Hardman led a delegation to London for high-level talks with ministers over dualling the bridge, down Worcester's Southern Link Road.

At the time, it was made clear during the private talks that no Government would cough up the cash without support from Herefordshire, such were the costs.

To try and get the ball moving, the county council has agreed to fund £7 million, but it still needs around £63 million to get the scheme off the ground.

More than £40 million of taxpayers cash is being sunk into dualling the rest of the Southern Link Road by mid-2018, but at the moment it will stop at Carrington Bridge.