The main road in the town will be closed for eight weeks to build a new roundabout

A major road to a Leicestershire town will be closed for eight weeks to allow a new roundabout to be built. The A606 Burton Road south of Melton will close completely between 7am on Monday 1 July and 7pm on Sunday 25 August, Leicestershire County Council said.

It will be closed between Cross Lane in Burton Lazars and Kirby Lane in Melton to allow the construction of a new roundabout for the North and East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (NEMMDR). The council said it would install traffic monitoring cameras at Little Dalby to discourage traffic, “particularly vans”, from using narrow, rural roads and using official diversion routes instead.

It comes after the council said “some cars and HGVs” ignored diversions and used rural routes through small villages when the A606 Burton Road was previously closed in January for two weeks. The council said other measures would be in place, such as “temporary local weight restrictions” and 30mph speed limits.

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The county council and contractors, Galliford Try, said partial lane closures had been ruled out on Burton Road as excavation more than 1.2m deep was required to completely remove the existing road beneath and either side of the new roundabout. The council said pedestrian and cyclist access would be available throughout the closure and temporary lights would be installed on the site section.

The council said advance warning of the closure had been given to more than 6,000 residents and summer works businesses. The A606 Burton Road carries around 10,000 vehicles a day in South Melton.

After it was initially closed in January, a parish council said the closure would cause “chaos” on village roads in the area and asked the council to reconsider. However, Leicestershire County Council said that due to the scale of the bypass, one of the biggest road projects ever undertaken by the authority, some disruption to existing roads was “unavoidable”.

The council has since said some cars and vans were ignoring official diversion routes and more measures were being taken this time to discourage drivers from using village roads. It said there would be “close liaison” with emergency services and public transport operators, temporary local weight restrictions and 30mph speed limits.

It also said a temporary taxi service would be provided to access primary health care and shopping to replace regular bus services and that after the closure the county council would oversee local diversion routes and repair any damage . He also said there were “special meetings” with district and parish councillors.

Janna Walker, deputy director of highways at Leicestershire County Council, said: “We have listened to what people have told us about the previous closure, so we have taken extra action. If we become aware that HGV operators are ignoring the official diversion route and driving through small villages, we will pass the information on to the police.

“We’re giving as much notice as we can about the road closure so people can plan and start familiarizing themselves with diversion routes, for example.”

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