Hundreds of people turned out to see an up-to-date display of the Bingley relief road route yesterday.

And the consensus was that the £47.9 million project will be the remedy to cure the town's traffic problems.

The one-day exhibition featured aerial photographs and plans of the ambitious project.

By midday more than 300 people had passed through the doors to scrutinise the three-mile road which aims to take 60 per cent of the traffic from the town centre.

Hazel Lyness, who lives near the Ferncliffe Road area where a major junction is being built, said the new road was a 'god-send'.

"It's just what the town needs. At the moment I dread going out in my car at peak times because it's a traffic nightmare," said the 71-year-old.

"The road will take a lot of the heavy traffic out of the town centre and it should make it a pleasant place to shop and visit."

Donald Brookes, who lives near Crossflatts, said he was fed up of sitting in traffic when travelling to Bingley and beyond.

"The relief road will make a major and positive difference to the lives of people in Bingley," he said

"From where I live I can see the work they're doing at the beginning of the route and it looks pretty impressive."

Jeffrey Jones, of Nab Wood, said he appreciated the need for the relief road but feared the effect it would have on the town's businesses.

"It could go either way but it would be a shame if the town were to become a ghost town," he said.

Amec, the contractors building the road which will stretch from Crossflatts roundabout to the Bankfield Hotel at Nab Wood, was awarded the contract by the Highways Agency and the first diggers rolled on site in July last year.

Amec's project manager Charly Clark said he had received a positive response from visitors.

"We decided to give this impromptu exhibition to promote some of the good aspects of the design, such as the work we are doing at Rye Loaf Tip, the South Bog structure, which will be a series of low arches, and Cottingley viaduct," he said.

Mr Clark said there would be another public exhibition towards the end of the year or the beginning of 2003.