WORK at a busy Herefordshire crossroads will begin next week – more than a week later than planned.

In an update from Herefordshire Council contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places, work at the Old Gore Crossroads near Ross-on-Wye will now begin on Wednesday, October 27.

That is more than a week later than the original start date of Monday, October 18, with work to install traffic lights at the junction expected to take around three months.

Balfour Beatty Living Places said the A449, between Ross-on-Wye and Ledbury, would be under two-way traffic lights for the majority of the works, but would be closed for around two weeks in January.

The street lights to be installed at Old Gore will only cast light onto the carriageway directly below and subsequent light pollution is minimal, a spokesperson said.

From 10pm until midnight, the street lights will dim by 50 per cent and from midnight until 5am, they will dim by 75 per cent.

Announcing the works, Herefordshire Council previously said the B4224, which crosses the A449, would be closed at Old Gore Crossroads for 12 weeks.

The closures were required due to traffic signal installation, street lighting and carriageway works, a public notice said.

The diversion routes would be signposted locally, it added.