Three weeks of A338 Britford roadworks begin
One of Salisbury's busiest arterial routes will be closed from today (Thursday 3rd September).
Last updated 3rd Sep 2020
The road is being shut from the Britford Park and Ride to just south of Harnham gyratory for resurfacing and other essential works.
The work, which is scheduled to take until the 25th of September, does not include weekends.
The road will reopen at 6pm on Fridays and then close again at 7am on Monday mornings.
The M&S garage on Downton Road is still open and accessible.
BUSES
Bus services will also be affected by the disruption. There are timetable updates from Salisbury Reds buses here.
Some services including school buses will still be able to travel down the road closure, under escort, between the hours of 06:30 and 19:00. They will then be diverted around.
The Britford Park and Ride site will remain open.
LONG A338 DIVERSION ROUTE
Here's the official diversion route that's been set up:
Wiltshire Council have to provide a diversion route that uses 'A' roads, which is why the official one is so long. People who know the area will be able to use a shorter route along smaller roads.
POOR TIMING - WILTSHIRE COUNCIL DEFEND DECISION
The timing of the work has been met with criticism with many people complaining it should have been completed before schools return.
In a statement, Wiltshire Council have explained why the roadworks weren't done sooner:
"We carefully plan roadworks to try to ensure closures are scheduled during the school holidays whenever possible. However, after negotiations with Highways England about concurrent works and diversion routes that are on-going within Hampshire and on the trunk network, we only have a short window in which the work can be carried out. Unfortunately, the window of opportunity takes us into the school term."
"The work will be carried out in phases with the northern section being carried out first so that the businesses are able to operate with as much access as possible. The road will be open at weekends."
"Advance signs on all approaches to Salisbury have been placed so that people can find alternative routes if they pass through the city."