TRAVEL problems are predicted in Banbury when a major through-route closes to traffic.

Oxfordshire Highways is planning essential repairs to Bluebird Bridge, which carries Concorde Avenue over the canal near the bus station.

Work should have started on Monday, July 23, but the floods forced a rethink. It is anticipated that the repairs will start later this month.

The work will last three weeks and Concorde Avenue will be closed southbound from the junction with Cherwell Drive to the Bridge Street traffic lights.

Diversions will be in place with traffic using Southam Road to reach the town centre and routes south and west.

The work will involve replacing the bridge joints and providing better waterproofing.

Over the past few months, Oxfordshire County Council has filled in a large number of potholes that have allowed water to seep through to the steel framework of the bridge.

The county council's transport chief, Ian Hudspeth, said: "We have been having problems with Bluebird Bridge and we need to move in and do some work. There will be some short-term inconvenience, so drivers will need to allow extra time.

"This is a busy section of road and there will never be a right time to close it."