ROADWORKS that have been causing misery for thousands of motorists on one of the main routes in Winchester are due to end on Monday.

However, before the road gets back to normal, highways chiefs are warning that part of the road must close for the whole of this weekend.

The work on the St Cross Road railway tunnel has been under way since July and has meant closing off one of the lanes while safety fencing was installed over the bridge.

As well as installing the fencing, the £230,000 work also involved realigning the carriageway, replacing a water main under the bridge, and re-doing the footway.

Temporary traffic lights have been put in place to control traffic, but because of the number of vehicles using that route into the city, morning jams have often stretched back on to the M3.

The tailbacks were made worse on Monday when the temporary traffic lights failed after contractors cut through the cables. To add to the problems, traffic lights at the junction with Stanmore Lane also failed on the same day.

The lights failed for the first time last Friday when a power surge knocked out their controlling computers.

Temporary lights were installed, but they too failed a couple of days later, leaving drivers facing serious delays on two stretches of the road.

A spokeswoman for Hampshire County Council's highways department, which is overseeing the work, said staff had been despatched as soon as the fault was registered and had now fixed the problem, which it hoped would not reoccur.

The road closure will take place from 6pm on Saturday until 5am on Monday to allow for carriageway resurfacing. A signed diversion will be in place.

Residents have been warned that extra noise could result from the work at the weekend, especially between 6pm and 10pm on Saturday, and from 6am onwards on Sunday.