MOTORISTS face six weeks of delays in the Southampton Road area as a result of the McDonald’s and Premier Inn development.

Milford Mill Road is being widened, and traffic lights are being installed to improve safety at the Petersfinger railway bridge.

During the work, scheduled to start on April 3, a 280-metre stretch of Milford Mill Road, northwest of its junction with Petersfinger Road, will be closed. The road is a well-used rat run to avoid College roundabout, and during a recent four-hour closure there was gridlock on Southampton Road and Churchill Way.

Access for residents and businesses will be maintained “where possible”, according to the highways department.