MOTORISTS are set to face difficult journeys to and from work as sections of a busy Basingstoke roundabout are closed.

The final stages of the £9.5million improvement works to the A340 Aldermaston Road and Merton Rise access are set to begin today.

The scheme requires two large sections of the Aldermaston Road Roundabout to be closed for separate three-week periods.

The road under the eastern bridge, after the slip road on to Ringway North, will be closed to allow extensive repairs to the carriageway.

Drivers wanting to get to or through Houndmills will be diverted off the roundabout up the slip road for Ringway North along to the A33 junction of the A339, and will have to return along the A339 westbound, to rejoin the roundabout.

When this work is completed, the western bridge section of the roundabout will be closed for three weeks and yet more diversions will be put in place.

Engineers from Hampshire County Council are warning that in addition to this disruption, some day and night road closures for various sections of the Aldermaston Road Roundabout will also be necessary.

Bus services will also be affected, with changes to routes and timetables for services covering the Popley and Oakridge area.

While the eastern bridge section is closed, the following changes will be made to Stagecoach's bus services:

* Jazz 2 buses heading towards Baughurst will run their normal route, but buses heading towards the town centre and Brighton Hill will not serve Houndmills or Kingsclere Road but will operate instead via the Ringway and Churchill Way West.* Buses will still serve the Alençon Link, to and from the train station, in both directions.* Route 5 will serve Oakridge as normal, but then operate direct to Basingstoke hospital, returning via Abbey Road and back to town. Customers wishing to travel from Abbey Road to the hospital should use the Route 9 service.* Route 5 buses will run approximately 10 minutes earlier than currently timetabled from the hospital and Abbey Road to the town centre.* Routes 9 and 32 will operate to their existing timetables, but delays are expected.The planned closures of various entrances and exits to the roundabout will mean buses will be unable to serve Abbey Road and Oakridge Road at some times.

The second phase of the final stages of this work is due to begin on October 13, when the western bridge section of the roundabout will be closed for the three weeks.

Information about changes to the Stagecoach bus services during this time can be found at www. stagecoachbus.com The multi-million-pound construction project involves the installation of traffic lights on all six approaches to the roundabout. The A340 will also be widened from the roundabout to Priestley Road.

The project also includes footpaths being added in parts of Popley Way, Oakridge Road and Aldermaston Road South to Hubbard Road.

The Merton Rise development will be served by new access roads. The county council has reassured drivers that all anticipated diversions will be signposted.