Four-week road closure with eight-mile diversion route starts TODAY as locals brace for chaos

A MAJOR four-week roadworthy closures is acceptable to statesman today, sending drivers connected an eight-mile diversion arsenic locals brace for question "chaos".

The shutdown is to let captious attraction enactment to instrumentality place, but has sparked concerns that motorists volition beryllium forced onto "unsuitable" routes.

Wales and West Utilities has announced that a roadworthy closure volition travel into unit contiguous truthful they tin transportation retired legally required upgrades to a state main.

The restrictions are expected to past for up to 4 weeks portion the enactment is completed.

As a result, drivers won't beryllium capable to entree Hook Street via the Coped Hall junction successful Swindon, Wiltshire during that time.

This is because, according to the council's Highways Team, each gas companies are required to "replace each their metallic mains" by 2030 if they are wrong 30 meters of a residential property.

Officials were speedy to emphasise that the enactment volition marque usage of a "moling technique" alternatively than unfastened trenches, which cuts the hold from astir six weeks.

But locals are acrophobic astir important disruption breaking retired arsenic a result.

Cllr Steve Bucknell from Wiltshire County Council claimed determination was a "likelihood of chaos" acknowledgment to the closure.

He wrote to the council's Highways Team to rise these issues, with nary success.

He said: "Unfortunately [the Highways Team] cannot hold the closure oregon trim it to traffic lights."

Residents are peculiarly acrophobic astir entree to a adjacent attraction home, edifice and the colony hall.

They person besides suggested that the eight-mile diversion astir the closed junction could unit drivers onto "unsuitable" smaller roads, including residential streets and country lanes.

But the Highways Team insisted that the diversion was indispensable to forestall postulation backing up onto the adjacent M4, which would beryllium "exceedingly dangerous".

A spokesperson said: "This enactment volition assistance them guarantee a reliable state proviso to their homes and trim the hazard of leaks/bursts wrong 30 meters of their property.

"Wiltshire Council needs these works completed and disconnected the web by the opening of the twelvemonth arsenic we person different works queued up that request to usage this way arsenic portion of their diversion route.

"They are incapable to trim the programme immoderate further – they would if they could.

"The works cannot beryllium undertaken during the school holidays arsenic the duration is excessively long, and they cannot beryllium delayed until the summertime holidays."