WORK on new roundabout at a dangerous junction which one of the main ways in and out of a Clitheroe will require five consecutive weekend road closures.

They will allow Lancashire County Council to complete the replacement of the staggered junction of the A59 with Pendle Road and Clitheroe Road with the new road layout.

The aim is to improve safety and allow for higher levels of traffic resulting from a new Taylor Wimpey housing estate.

The section of the A59 from the Whalley Road roundabout to the turn off to Pimlico Link Road will be fully closed to carry out the final task of surfacing the A59, Pendle Road and Clitheroe Road. Access for Pendleton will be maintained throughout.

The road is due to be closed from 7pm on Friday to 6am on Monday over the weekends of February 8 to 11, 15 to 18, and 22 to 25 as well as March 1 to 4 and 8 to 11.

Traffic will be diverted via Whalley Road through the centre of Clitheroe, and back onto the A59 via Pimlico Link Road.

Rina Housbey, the county council's principal highway engineer, said: "This junction has a poor safety record and this scheme will make it much safer, as well as more suitable for higher volumes of traffic as the area develops.

"We know this work on such a major junction is disruptive. We're now entering the final stages of this project, however we will need to fully close part of the A59 to lay the new road surface on the roundabout and the approaches on the surrounding roads.

"We're planning to carry this out at weekends under a full road closure to allow the work to be carried out as quickly as possible and minimise disruption as much as we can."

The scheme is being funded by Taylor Wimpey.