DRIVERS are bracing themselves for nearly two weeks of traffic chaos, as one of the main roads in and out of Braintree prepares for resurfacing.

Essex Highways has announced from October 23, Coggeshall Road, Braintree, will be partially closed outside of rush hour from its junction with Turnpike Place, 133 metres in an easterly direction.

East Street, Braintree, will also be shut from its junction with Coggeshall Road, to the junction of Manor Road – a distance of 430m.

Two overnight closures, between 8pm and 6am will also be implemented, and temporary traffic lights will be used between 9.30am and 3.30pm on the stretch of road.

Drivers hoping to get to the town centre using Coggeshall Road will be told to use a diversion, of 5km or 3miles, down the A120, and towards Braintree via Cressing Road.  Nigel Thorogood, a resident of Braintree, said it was "crazy" to close a main road into the town.

He said: "To close a main artery into Braintree for what is 133 metres, no real length, of resurfacing seems crazy.

"It will cause absolutely mayhem for traffic in the town.

"I can’t see why it will take all that time and why it cannot be done overnight."

A spokesperson for Essex Highways said: “Work is taking place to repair the kerb and patch the road surface and Coggeshall Road will remain open with temporary traffic lights in place to allow traffic to flow along the road, this work will take place between 9:30am and 3:30pm so it is fully open in peak times.  "The road will only be completely closed for two nights between 8pm and 6am between John Ray Street and Turnpike Road.

"Official diversions have to follow the same class of road as the closed road, so if we close a B-road, we must find a diversion along B-roads.  "However, drivers or riders with local knowledge may well be able to use other local roads.”

Here is a map of the diversion:

Braintree and Witham Times: