What's going to happen?

Workers will be raising a 200-metre stretch of the road directly south of Worcester Bridge, as it passes the cricket ground, by about 15 inches. That’s in order to construct a box culvert running diagonally across the road from the tennis courts in Cripplegate Park north of the road to the King’s School Worcester’s playing fields just west of the entrance to the cricket club.

When will they start?

Work will start on Monday January 8. If you’re returning to work or school in Worcester this week you have a few days to enjoy using New Road as a three-lane road for a few days yet.

Why?

It’s to prevent flooding in New Road. In 2007 and 2014 the road was closed for four and eight days respectively.

This work is intended to keep the route open during equally severe floods.

Worcestershire County Council’s Highways department’s plans say: “The traffic-based economic benefits of the scheme would amount to £7.497 million, while the wider economic benefits would amount to £2.892m.”

What will be the effect?

The council says that access to Cripplegate Park, King’s School Worcester’s playing fields and the cricket ground will be maintained, and that at least one lane of the road will be open – “although intermittent road closures may be required.”

There will also very likely be knock-on effects back into the city centre at peak times as well.

And seven trees are to be cut down along the road. There will be 13 trees planted in Cripplegate Park as a replacement for those trees and five more which had to be cut down earlier because of disease.

How long will it last?

Months. Otherwise, there seems to be a discrepancy. The Highways plans put to the county council’s planning committee says the work will take “approximately” 12 weeks.

But signs put up on New Road to warn users of the coming disruption say that the work might go on for another six weeks, meaning that it could continue until mid-May as opposed to the earlier date of early April.

(By which time the cricket season will be in full swing-lets hope the hordes of fans making their way to Worcestershire versus Nottinghamshire or Essex aren’t too inconvenienced)