A BUSY Herefordshire road closed for several days for roadworks is unexpectedly open today due to machinery problems.

A spokesperson for Herefordshire Council and Balfour Beatty Living Places said the A44 Worcester Road between the A49 and the C1055 Stretford is open today due to plant breakdown.

Two-way traffic lights will be in place, and the closure will resume tomorrow, with a spokesperson confirming the road will be closed between 9am and 3pm each from November 29.

Herefordshire Council previously said the A44 near Leominster would be closed from Thursday, November 24 up to and including Wednesday, November 30.

The spokesperson said it was for resurfacing and lining works between the A49 roundabout and the junction with the C1055 at Stretford.

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The A44 connects Wales with Kington, Leominster, Bromyard, Worcester and onto Oxford.

Herefordshire Council's roads contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places said it would be closed from 9am until 3pm each day, with two-way traffic lights outside these times.

There would be no weekend working, and while the road was closed, drivers would be signposted on a 25-mile diversion.

From one closure point to the other, via the diversion, is a mammoth 24.4 miles.

It is understood diversions must be via the same classification of road. It means because the A44 is an A-road, the diversion must also be via A-roads.

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