DRIVERS in Yate face more than a month of congestion as one of the town’s main roads closes.

Link Road, which runs between Station Road and Kennedy Way and serves as a main thoroughfare between north and south Yate, will be shut to traffic for five weeks.

It was due to close on Monday, October 4 but Tesco now says the works will not start until the following week.

The roadworks are part of Tesco’s redevelopment of its existing shopping centre supermarket which got underway last week.

The road will be closed intermittently, sometimes in the day and sometimes overnight, while an underpass is filled in and the carriageway is widened.

Town councillors have warned that the closure will lead to chaos but said people will have to 'grin and bear it'.

Cllr Chris Willmore said: "I think it will be chaos. In fact I put money on it but we don’t have a choice.

"The town centre is so reliant on that bit of road but we will have to live with it."

Mayor Cllr Ian Blair said: "If the Tesco rebuild is going to take place then this has to happen.

"There is no doubt there is going to be congestion but if we want an improved shopping centre it is just something we have to put up with. People will have to grin and bear it and find another way."

A diversion route via Station Road, the Morrisons roundabout and Kennedy Way will be in place during the roadworks and a temporary access road from the Kennedy Way end of Link Road will be created to the shopping centre and Total petrol station.

Yate Shopping Centre manager Andrew Lowrey said it would be 'business as usual'.

"We have a comprehensive traffic management plan to ensure that traffic can access the shopping centre and petrol station during these works," he said.

"If people adhere to the diversions there should be no traffic problems.

"It is imperative that we all work together during these progressive times so that the works can be completed prior to the busy Christmas opening in late November."

The existing Tesco is due to be knocked down in early February 2011 and the new Extra store is scheduled to be open in time for Christmas 2011.