ALMOST two weeks of roadworks will begin in Haydon Wick next week in a bid to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety.

Swindon Borough Council will begin work on Tuesday to resurface Thames Avenue near Morrisons and remove the traffic chicanes and widen the road back to its full width.

A council spokesman said: “We will also be putting in a zebra crossing. It’s being done to improve traffic flow while making sure pedestrians still have a safe and convenient place to cross.

“All the work is expected to finish on 11 September but it will involve closing the road between 8am and 6pm on weekdays. Access to Morrison’s supermarket and the Haydon Centre will be maintained at all times.”

The work has been welcomed by Haydon Wick parish councillor Ellen Baker Lee who said residents had been keen to see improvements for a number of years.

She said: “There is a bus stop there and traffic was really backing up. It was felt the chicanes were the biggest problem, but we needed to slow the traffic down because that is a natural crossing point for pedestrians, so the new crossing will act as a way of combating that.

“Thames Avenue was never designed to take that much traffic, but with a few years and a lot of hard work from the parish council working with the borough council to find a solution - especially at rush hour – this will make things better.

“The parish council did a survey and this was the option that was come up with by the majority of residents. Hopefully we will be able to get more work done that the residents would like to see completed, but it is all about feasibility studies.”

“We apologise for the inconvenience in the meantime, but it will be worth it in the long term.”

Swindon Borough Council ward member Oliver Donachie said he couldn’t wait to see the chicanes removed.

He said: “It has been years in the planning and deployment. The relief for the area will be tremendous.

"I can understand perhaps prior to it being built that it was seen as a way of doing traffic control, but it no longer serves the purpose and its more hindrance than benefit. I cannot wait for it to come out.”