MOTORISTS are warned of major new road closures and diversions in Widnes to pave way for the new £1.86 billion Mersey Gateway.

During the weekend of August 8 and 9 the road between Ditton Roundabout and Moor Lane roundabout will be closed to all traffic.

A diversion via Ditton Road, Hale Road, Liverpool Road and Kingsway will be in operation.

Hugh O'Connor, general manager of Merseylink, thanked people for their patience.

He said said he appreciated the diversions around the Ditton roundabout could add some distance and time to motorists' journeys.

However, he said the closures could not be avoided at this stage of the road improvement and construction project.

Hugh said: "In the coming weeks there will be some disruption in the Ditton roundabout area as we continue with the upgrade to the road network around Halton in preparation for the opening of the Mersey Gateway bridge.

"We appreciate the closures are likely to inconvenience drivers, but they are unavoidable as we carry out essential work in the area.

“The closures will be carried out overnight and during weekends in order to minimise disruption as much as possible.

“We ask everyone to follow the diversions that are being put in place."

From Monday, August 10 until Sunday, August 16, there will be overnight and weekend closures of the westbound route heading towards Ditton between Moor Lane roundabout and Ditton Roundabout. A diversion via Kingsway, Liverpool Road, Hale Road and Ditton Road will be in operation.

The diversion will be in place from 7pm to 5am Monday to Thursday and from midnight Friday to midnight Sunday.

During this period, there will also be a lane closure on the eastbound route, heading towards Widnes, between Ditton roundabout and Moor Lane Roundabout.

For set periods from mid August to mid September, during nights and weekends only, there will be a total closure of the south west side of Ditton roundabout, between Queensway southbound access road and Ditton Road eastbound access.

This will include a total closure of the Queensway northbound exit slip road to Ditton Roundabout and northbound Desoto Road exit and access slip roads.

The closure will only be in operation overnight between 7pm and 5am on Mondays to Thursdays and from midnight on Fridays to midnight on Sundays.

Diversion routes to allow access to Speke, Hale, Widnes and the Multimodal Gateway will be in operation.

The dates of the closure are from Monday, August 17 to Friday, August 21; Monday, August 24 to Thursday, August 27; and from Tuesday, September 1 to Sunday, September 13.

Each of the official diversion routes will be clearly signposted for motorists to follow.

The new six lane bridge is due to open in 2017.

The £1.86 billion Mersey Gateway Bridge will open in 2017, connecting Widnes and Runcorn across the River Mersey.