Many of you will be aware of the essential maintenance works that are about to start on the A5 through Towcester from road bridge over the River Tove southwards towards the junction of the A5 with Marlow Road.

The works will begin in late July and are scheduled for completion by the end of November 2018. Highways England will be working two shifts per day (7am to midnight) Monday to Friday, one shift (7am to 5pm) on Saturdays and one shift (8am to 4pm) on Sundays.

The work will include the repair of damaged drains and kerbs, resurfacing of the carriageway and some footpaths, refreshing the road markings, and installing new road studs and traffic loops.

Consequently, the A5 through Towcester will be closed for non-local traffic. As the road will be closed in stages, Highways England have undertaken to maintain vehicle access to businesses and properties wherever possible, although pedestrian access to the town centre will be maintained at all times. Works will also include the closure of the gaps in the central reservation on the A43 between Tiffield Road and Towcester Road, a fully-signed diversion route, and the temporary removal of one-way restrictions on certain roads in the town to enable access and egress.

I know that this will undoubtedly be frustrating for some residents, and highlights the absolute need for Towcester to have a relief road built as soon as possible. Please do rest assured that I am continuing to press for the early delivery of the road, and I have recently put this point to Cllr Martin Tett – the Chairman of the England Economic Heartland Strategic Alliance – to get the road entered onto their priority project list. I am still confident that we will get the early delivery agreed between the developer and the District Council, but I am doing all I can to ensure we have a secondary route for funding so that it is not the residents who suffer from that process not moving forward quickly enough. You can read more about my approach to Martin here.

Please do contact me if you have any questions or concerns about any of the above.