Weymouth's Olympic relief road delayed until February

The princess "officially opened" the road during a visit in December

The opening of the Weymouth Relief Road has been further delayed with officials blaming "extremely cold weather".

The £87m road is being built to ease traffic during the Olympic 2012 sailing events, which will be held in Weymouth and Portland, Dorset.

The original date in December, when the Princess Royal "officially opened" the site, had already been delayed.

Now the county council has said it will not be ready until at least February due to recent weather conditions.

Andy Ackerman, Dorset County Council's head of highways, said: "Residents have been waiting a long time for this scheme and it is unfortunate that the unusually cold weather in December has pushed the road opening back a month.

"Skanska has done a good job, but some things the construction industry doesn't have control over."

The scheme has seen objections from residents and protesters occupied trees when work to clear the area began in 2008.

Weymouth and Portland will play host to 400 international sailors at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The events are to be held at the new-look Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy at Osprey Quay.

But separate £9m improvements to roads and roundabouts in the town centre have caused delays and drawn criticism from businesses who have claimed they have driven customers away.