TRAFFIC chaos is due to hit Melksham again as major road works lasting up to seven months start on three main routes into the town.

Gas company Transco will begin digging up Sandridge Road, Forest Road, Orchard Gardens and King Street on April 5, with work at Sandridge Road expected to take up to 28 weeks.

Town councillor Vic Oakman said: "It is going to cause chaos in Melksham and it is going to go on right through the summer. It is absolutely ridiculous; complete madness.

"Sandridge Road and Forest Road are the main routes into Melksham from Calne and are used by a lot of traffic, including heavy good vehicles.

"King Street is the other entrance to the town and there is always a big build-up of traffic there."

Commuters travelling in and out of the town at rush hour already face heavy traffic and the work is expected to add delays to journeys and to put pressure on alternative routes.

Town clerk John Crook said: "It is bound to be a problem, anything like that is going to cause disruption. It is going to cause a lot of worry and inconvenience."

At Forest Road the project to replace almost 700 metres of pipe, along with the individual pipes to homes along the road, is expected to last 18 weeks.

The work will start outside Lowbourne Junior School and traffic lights will be used at the junction of Forest Road, Lowbourne and Sandridge Road.

The latest round of roadworks comes just a year after road safety works were carried out in the same area, causing disruption for nearby residents.

At Sandridge Road almost 2km of pipe is to be replaced, along with pipes at Lowbourne, St Margaret's Gardens, Churchill Avenue, Maple Close and Burniston Close.

At Orchard Gardens and King Street work is scheduled to take six weeks, with 200 metres of pipe being replaced.

Even more disruption is due to hit the town in July as Transco begin to replace more pipes along the High Street, Market Place and Spa Road.

The gas company is planning to put up two or three-way traffic lights throughout July and August and into September while the 12-week project is completed.

Cllr Oakman said such work should not be carried out in summer, when traffic tends to be heavier than in winter.

He said: "Melksham isn't a tourist attraction but a lot of people use Melksham as a way through. Summer should be a no-no for this sort of work. It should be done at a quieter period of time.

Transco project manager Andy Leach said: "We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this essential safety work may cause.

"Wherever possible we will use modern engineering techniques to help minimise disruption and speed the work up."

The project is part of a national £15 billion programme to replace all old metal pipes within 30 metres of buildings with highly durable, non-corroding plastic equivalents within 30 years.