DRIVERS are being warned to avoid a major Worcester road, with more overnight closures on the way.

The A4440 Southern Link Road will be shut off to traffic between Tuesday and Friday next week for the next stage of the £42 million revamp.

The closures will last between 9pm-6am on all of those days, the third time in recent months people have been stopped from accessing it overnight.

Worcestershire County Council says "essential" surface and drainage work needs to be carried out before workers can go any further.

The major arterial route's upgrade, which is set to last until 2019, is one of the biggest overhauls to Worcestershire's roads network for decades.

Between now and this summer the enlarged Norton island is due to be finished off, and the new dedicated left-turn from Whittington Road to Crookbarrow Way for drivers exiting the M5 will be complete.

Bosses at County Hall also say that by July or August all the necessary preparation work for dualling the section between the Norton and Whittington roundabouts will be done.

The phase after this summer will prove the most complicated yet, with the large bridge structure owned by Network Rail set to be enlarged so four lanes can fit across a wider carriageway right the way along.

Motorists are also being warned that a new road alignment will be in place from next week, with drivers having to adapt to a different angle.

The Worcester News revealed last month how dirty bollard posts, poor lighting and the closeness of concrete pillars have sparked concern.

But leading politicians say the project is "vital" to unlock congestion across south Worcestershire.

Councillor Ken Pollock, cabinet member for economy, skills and infrastructure, said: "This is a vital scheme for us to enable faster journey times and improved access to Worcester, Malvern and beyond.

"We've worked closely with our contractor Griffiths to plan these works carefully to ensure we keep the number of overnight closures to an absolute minimum.

"However we recognise overnight closures can be inconvenient for residents and road users, and would like to apologise for any disruption these essential works may cause."

Both the county council and Worcestershire's Local Enterprise Partnership are waiting on an answer this summer from a £70 million bid to dual Carrington Bridge.

The bridge will remain untouched under the current £42 million revamp, unless the Government coughs up the cash.

But MPs in the county, council chiefs and business leaders are pulling out all the stops to try and unlock the money.