A KEY town centre road will close overnight tonight.

Alencon Link will shut from 8pm and reopen at 5.30am tomorrow while refurbishment work continues.

It closed for the same duration last night.

As previously reported by The Gazette, the road, which closed to eastbound traffic in April, will not fully re-open as planned on December 6 because of problems with utility cables which need to be moved.

Hampshire County Council said this has caused delays to construction work, resulting in the opening being behind schedule by a few days.

Councillor Seán Woodward, executive member for economy, transport and environment at Hampshire County Council, said: “The works have been delayed because cables needed to be moved by the utility companies. This was not factored into the original work schedule as it only became clear that the utility cables were in the wrong place once they were uncovered.”

Final touches to the road have now been agreed, with even more trees and planting to be included to complete the transformation.

The planting will begin mid-January and, although it will have no affect on vehicles using the road, it may disrupt pedestrians for a short period.

The £1.5million Hampshire County Council project includes the construction of a shared-use pedestrian and cycle link from Victory Roundabout to Chapel Hill Roundabout.

The subway connecting Winterthur Way to The Anvil entrance has been removed with a signal-controlled pedestrian crossing installed to improve pedestrian access to The Malls, The Anvil and the railway station.