CONTRACTORS working on improvements to the A36 trunk road through West Wellow are set to battle on through the weekend to get the road re-opened in time for Monday's morning rush hour.

It had been hoped that the road - closed since Monday, January 17th - would have been reopened after work finished tonight (Friday).

But the contractors have had their efforts severely hampered by this week 's cold and wet weather

A Highways Agency spokesperson confirmed that diversions would remain in place over the weekend.

The project has involved a number of safety measures as well as resurfacing and she added that in order to ensure the completion of the work, there will be temporary traffic lights on stretches of the road.

But in order to avoid delays and disruption to rush-hour traffic, the lights will be restricted to off-peak periods

Meanwhile, work has now begun on resurfacing the dual carriageway link between Ower Services and Junction 2 of the M27.

It was a peaceful start to the week on Monday, with traffic moving smoothly on the northbound and southbound hard shoulders of the link, with the carriageways themselves sealed off by long lines of cones.

The heavy plant involved in the resurfacing work then moved in, but the traffic continued to flow smoothly along the coned-off shoulders.

There was praise this week both for the efforts of the contractors and for the tolerance of people living in and around the Wellow area from Wellow Parish Council chairman Veronica Perry.

But she maintained her call for further improvements in the future in a letter to The Romsey Advertiser (see page 4).

Mrs Perry is calling for further safety works, particularly at the Whinwhistle Road/A36 Junction, which has been the scene of many accidents over the years.