MOTORISTS will face delays in a busy Bicester through road for almost four months when work to replace gas pipes gets under way.

Work is due to start on Monday in Buckingham Road to swap existing metal gas mains and services to modern plastic polyethylene pipes.

For the first phase of the 14-week programme, Buckingham Road will be closed to northbound traffic between the roundabout in North Street/Field Street, and Bicester North Station, for six weeks until October 22.

Motorists will still be able to travel south on the road from Buckingham to the town centre and Bicester Village.

Drivers heading north will be diverted along Banbury Road, and buses will use stops at Rowan Road and Blake Road, instead of scheduled stops near Bicester North Station and Buckingham Crescent.

After six weeks the lane closure will be lifted, but temporary traffic lights will be in place. There will be access to the station and properties at all times during the work.

Southern Gas Networks’ construction manager Garry Percival said: “We will be doing everything we can to minimise disruption.”

For more information about bus changes view stagecoachbus.com