Busy north Derbyshire road to close in both directions next weekend

The closure of the busy Dronfield Bypass will be in place between 6am-6pm on both Saturday, August 21 and Sunday, August 22.

Derbyshire County Council says the closure is needed so highways teams can carry out a delayed ‘spring clean’ of the dual carriageway.

The work includes cutting grass on the central reservations and at the sides of the roads, picking up litter, emptying the gullies and drains, fixing any potholes, and other maintenance work that needs carrying out.

It is part of a rolling series of road closures over the summer.

Over the weekend of July 24 and 25 the A617 was closed between Heath and Chesterfield’s Horns Bridge Roundabput – causing heavy congestion across the town.

Residents in the area complained about the timing of the roadworks and delays it had caused to journeys.

Gary Moore posted on Facebook: “Should be 6pm to 6am ...on a Saturday? This work could have been done in lockdown.”

MORE: 'It's like living on the M1': Residents' concern over 'race track' traffic in Chesterfield neighbourhood

Cabinet member for highways assets and transport, Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal, apologised for the inconveneince to motorists but said the work was necessary.

“We need to carry out this work, but by bringing together different teams from the county council, and our district and borough partners we can be more efficient and not impact on the travelling public too much,” he said.

“We’ve delayed this programme by a month or so this year so that we are kinder to nature by letting the grass grow a bit longer so that some native species are given longer to flower or seed.

“Most of the dual carriageways will only have lane closures, but we will need to fully close some of them to enable the work to be carried out safely so I’d like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.”

Road closures will continue over the Bank Holiday weekend.

On Saturday, August 28 August lanes will be closed on the A617 at Doe Lee from 6am-6pm, and on Sunday, August 29, lanes will be shut on the A6135/A616 at Junction 30 of the M1 at Barlborough, from 4-11am.