ONE of the busiest commuter roads into Southampton will be shut for more than a fortnight bringing misery to thousands of motorists.

Bassett Avenue will be closed completely to southbound traffic for 16 days from Sunday.

It comes as another blow to drivers who are already facing the closure of a one-mile stretch of the A36 between Southampton and Salisbury and long-running delays on the M27 from Rownhams services to junction two at Ower.

A spokesman for Hampshire-based motoring organisation the AA said: "It seems to be a ludicrous thing to do, to shut off that route into the city. There are already roadworks on the A36 and the M27, and we would call for the council to postpone the work on Bassett Avenue until the other roadworks are finished.

"It's just another blow for drivers across the south who are already suffering."

City roads bosses have kept two-way traffic flowing on Bassett Avenue by reducing the road to one lane in each direction since resurfacing work started at the end of February.

But the fatal accident on the M27 earlier this month that claimed the lives of a London solicitor and his daughter has forced a re-think.

Michael Thomas, 40, and his five-year-old daughter Louise died when their family car went through cones marking a temporary central reservation and ploughed head-on into a juggernaut on Friday, April 5.

Mr Thomas's wife Claire and son Daniel, three, sustained life-threatening injuries and are being treated at Southampton General Hospital.

A spokesman said they were both now "stable". Louise's twin sister Sophie is "well", the spokesman added.

Richard Williams, Southampton's Cabinet member for the environment and transport, said: "We want to be certain the road is as safe as possible, so for that reason we are not going to have peak-hour lanes running in both directions.

"After the terrible accident on the M27 we decided to take the decision to close the road southbound to make sure nothing like that happens on Bassett Avenue. Safety has to come first."

Commuters heading into the city will instead be diverted via Bassett Green Road on to Stoneham Lane, and then down either Burgess Road or Thomas Lewis Way.

The resurfacing work was originally scheduled to last for another four weeks.