TRAFFIC signs have gone up to warn drivers about delays on the Farmer’s Roundabout in Melksham which will last for most of 2019.

A 30mph speed restriction is being placed on all four approach roads to the roundabout and the nearby A365 ahead of the start of work on a £3 million improvement scheme.

They include the A350, the A365, the B3107 and Semington Road North and Semington Road South.

The restrictions come into force ahead of plans to improve access to and from the roundabout to reduce queue lengths and delays in the area and improve journey time reliability.

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “Work is due to start on February 4 and will last for around eight months.

“We are working with our contractors to finalise a traffic management plan and mitigate disruption during this period. There will be no reduction in the number of lanes during the peak hours.

“Speed restrictions to all traffic are being imposed in the interests of public safety to enable Wiltshire Council to make road improvements.”

The work will involve installing partial traffic lights on the Farmers Roundabout itself and associated works at the junction with the A350/A365 and at the Semington roundabout at the other end of Western Way.

The spokesman added: “Inevitably, works and projects such as this do involve traffic management and lane closures.

“There is always a difficult balance that needs to be struck between undertaking the works in an efficient, cost-effective and safe manner, while also seeking to minimise disruption to the travelling public, local residents, and stakeholders.”

“We will be looking to work closely with the contractor as they develop their construction programme to seek to ensure that they strike an appropriate balance.”