Press release

Full weekend closures at A1 southbound near Elkesley in Nottinghamshire

Full weekend closures of the A1 southbound will be in place from next week in Elkesley.

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From Thursday 9 to Monday 13 April the road will be closed southbound from the off-slip road at Apleyhead to the northbound slip road at Twyford Bridge. The first closure takes place between 8pm and 6am on Thursday (9 April), followed by a full closure between 8pm on Friday 10 April and 6am on Monday 13 April.

The following weekend, the southbound road will again be fully closed from 8pm on Friday 17 April. It will reopen by 6am on Monday 20 April.

The closures are necessary for major construction and surfacing work to re-align the carriageway and to lift the road to new levels.

Highways England Project Manager, Graham Littlechild, said:

We are undertaking this significant work over two full weekend closures rather than multiple overnight closures to minimise overall disruption to road users and speed up completion of the project.

There will inevitably be delays at peak times on Saturday and Sunday and our contractor will be working hard to complete as much work as possible during the first weekend.

The new road will need to be raised by up to 800 millimetres in some places and the closures are necessary for the work to be undertaken safely and in the least possible time.

Diversions will be in place and I advise road users to plan their journeys, using the many alternative routes to the south that will be signed off the A1 north of the closure or leave extra time if necessary.

During the closures, traffic will be advised to divert across to the M1 or be diverted to the A614 Blyth Road, the A616 and the A46 where road users can then re-join the A1. If the work is unable to take place, due to severe weather for example, it will take place during a contingency weekend of Friday 24 to Monday 27 April.

Further information on the Elkesley junctions improvement scheme is available at: http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/a1-elkesley-junctions-improvement/

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Information Line on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Published 2 April 2015