A bitter row over who is responsible for the upkeep of the Bingley relief road could "substantially" delay further schemes to reduce gridlock in the Aire Valley.

Bradford Council is refusing to take control of the £47.9 million bypass from the Highways Agency unless the Government pays for a short-term scheme to ease some of the congestion it contributes to further down the valley.

It is at loggerheads with the Government which says funding to improve traffic flow will only become available if the Council agrees to become responsible for the A650 between Saltaire and Crossflatts roundabouts.

But a Council spokesman today said the offer by the Highways Agency to fund a study - which would look at ways of alleviating traffic problems caused by the opening of the road - was not sufficient.

"The Council fundamentally disagrees with the stance taken by the Highways Agency as we believe it is their responsibility to find solutions to the traffic problems caused by the Bingley bypass," said the spokesman.

"It is not sufficient for the Highways Agency merely to come forward with funding for a study after all these years.

"The Council accepts that it will need to deal with the long term problems in the Aire Valley but believes the Government should at least fund an interim scheme before handing over the road to us."

The stand-off is now likely to be decided by a time-consuming public inquiry.

But until it is resolved commuters face continuing nightmare jams on parts of the A650 with particular hotspots at Saltaire roundabout and Cottingley.

In the local transport plan drawn up for Bradford's highways and railways for the next five years, the Council has warned that ambitious proposals for an eastern bypass of Shipley might need to be brought forward.

Today, Council leader Councillor Margaret Eaton said: "If we assumed control of the road in its present condition we'd inherit a huge problem with no way of addressing it.

"They the Highways Agency need to find resolutions within the area before we consider taking over responsibility."

But David Jamieson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, has urged the Council to back down.

In a letter to Shipley Labour MP Chris Leslie, Mr Jamieson says the Highways Agency could not invest further in the road and "must concentrate on more strategic national network issues".

If short-term plans were drawn up, the Council could apply for Government and European funding to carry them out, he says: "The congestion issues here need to be addressed by the city council as they are of a local nature.

"The public inquiry process we must presently follow will substantially delay the development of transport policies for the route."

Mr Leslie urged the two parties to resolve the issue.

"We need to get everyone around the table to see what could be done and what could be included for the future in the Local Transport Plan for the area and get some positive ideas," he said. "The last thing we need is this issue going to a public inquiry."

But Councillor Martin Love (Green, Shipley) said he supported the Council's stance.

"I think to off-load it the relief road on the Council and therefore local tax payers is wrong and the Government should dip into its pocket to find a solution, whatever that might be," he said.

Mr Jamieson said about £800,000 had previously been made available to Bradford Council from the Highways Agency to identify improvements in the area and had been used to fund traffic-calming measures and the Nab Wood bus lane scheme.

The Telegraph & Argus has previously reported that Council chiefs have admitted that up to 2,000 more vehicles a day are using grid-locked Saltaire alone since the relief road opened 13 months ago.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport confirmed it had received an objection from the Council against it taking control of the relief road.

"But we remain hopeful the issue can be resolved without the need for a public inquiry," said the spokesman.