The A361 London Road dual carriageway by Hopton Industrial Estate on the outskirts of Devizes is to be shut at night for three weeks for resurfacing.

The £700,000 scheme will be carried out by Wiltshire Council’s highway contractor Balfour Beatty from Monday, September 8, to Friday, September 26, (excluding weekends) between 7pm and 6am.

The work will be carried out in two phases. One phase is between Waller Road (into Hopton Industrial Estate by Macqueen vets) to the turning for the C50 towards Blacklands. The other phase is between the Horton Road roundabout junction and Waller Road.

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “As there are pinch points at either end, the road needs to be closed but we have chosen to do the work during hours where the traffic flow isn’t as heavy to minimise disruption. Carriageway repairs will be carried out and there will be resurfacing work.

“The work is scheduled for September as it was part of our work’s programme with factors considered such as it not clashing with other major works.”

Devizes Town Council’s planning committee discussed the road closure with Coun Ted East saying: “I am concerned about the starting time of 7pm, I wonder if 8pm would be better to enable people returning from work late in Swindon.”

But other councillors thought 7pm was appropriate, including Coun Albert Wooldridge who said: “I use that road a lot and often come back from Swindon between 6pm and 7pm and there’s hardly any traffic on the road at that time. It’s more between 4pm and 6pm when there’s a lot of traffic.”

The planning committee raised no objections to the work but has asked Wiltshire Council that its contractor uses its discretion regarding the closure of the road to minimise the effects on traffic flow, should there be heavy traffic on any particular evening.