More roadworks for main route in city

The main road in and out of Exeter will be closed for major works in February, only months after a previous closure.

Devon County Council is putting in new traffic lights and a new "traffic island" on Heavitree Road with the intention of making bus journeys easier.

The road was closed from the middle of September to the middle of November last year due to extended work on gas pipes carried out by Wales and West Utilities.

The county council said the short-term disruption for the bus improvement works would be worthwhile in the longer term.

The council said the new traffic signals would give buses priority at the crossroads with Polsloe Road and Barrack Road.

It said the scheme, which is being paid for by the Department for Transport, is "designed to cut bus journey times and improve the reliability of bus services".

Jacqi Hodgson, Green Party leader and cabinet member for climate change, said it was "appreciated that there has been a fair bit of disruption to journeys around Heavitree" but the works would "make a significant difference to bus journeys going forward".

There will be overnight closures from 2 February and daytime closures from 16 February, with the work expected to take four weeks in total.

A diversion route will be in place via Magdalen Road, Barrack Road, Topsham Road, Holloway Street, Magdalen Street, Western Way and Heavitree Road.

Resurfacing work on Heavitree Road will also be carried out during the road closures.

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