MAJOR road closures are to hit Worcester for more than two months - with drivers bracing themselves for delays.

Around 10 weeks of phased road closures are about to start under the creation of the city's £120 million business park, sparking dismay from motorists about the length of the work.

As part of the huge 'Worcester Six' project, situated by Junction 6 of the M5 north of Claines, Worcestershire County Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership is spending £4 million into upgrading the roads network to cope with the 5,000 jobs the park will create.

It means the B4636 between the A4440 Nunnery Way and A4538 Pershore Lane will be shut for 10 weeks - and two weeks into that starting, the Pershore Lane to the Crowle Road stretch will be closed for eight.

The diversion routes are 2.5 miles and 5.5 miles respectively. 

The diversions will also have a knock-on impact around Warndon Villages including Trotshill Way and Parsonage Way which for some drivers will significantly lengthen journeys.

Council chiefs say the long closures are vital in providing proper access to Worcester Six, which is widely viewed as one of the region's flagship developments.

The roadworks will start in early October, potentially next week, with the business park due to open in the autumn of next year.

Driver Colin Prince, 74, of Whitewood Way, Whittington, said: "It's one hell of a journey around it, the diversion route must be six or seven miles and it's not good roads.

"The stretch from Newtown Road to Pershore Road is used by a lot of ambulances.

"It'll extend the day for a lot of people, lots of drivers from Droitwich, Evesham and Redditch also use it to visit the hospital.

"These are quite busy, important roads."

The council says the work will "be managed to keep disturbances to a minimum", including diverting traffic onto a temporary carriageway along part of the site to keep Pershore Lane open while some construction work carries on.

The authority has also released a statement saying once complete it will vastly improve traffic flow to the M5, which is a bottleneck now at busy periods.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, the deputy leader and cabinet member for economy, skills and infrastructure, said: "It's fantastic to see the plans progressing as part of our 'world class Worcestershire' vision and we look forward to bringing the Worcester Six development to life."

Gary Woodman, executive director of the Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "The improvement work for Pershore Lane providing access to Worcester Six, a vital employment site bringing over 5,000 jobs and improving traffic flow to Junction 6 of the M5, were prioritised in the 10-year plan.

"It's recognised that this will hugely benefit the long term economy."