A busy County Durham road is set to close for nearly two weeks as water network upgrades get underway.

Northumbrian Water has confirmed there will be a temporary road closure on B6278, north of Dent Gate Lane in Barnard Castle, beginning on April 2.

The closure will last 11 days while pipelaying works are carried out.

A signposted diversion has been put in place and Northumbria Water have said they hope to reopen the road “as quickly as possible.”

A Northumbrian Water spokesperson said: “As pipelaying continues on our £155m investment in water network upgrades in County Durham, a temporary road closure is required on the B6278, North of Barnard Castle.

“This will be in place from Tuesday, April 2, for up to 11 days, however we and our partners, Farrans Construction, will be working to complete the work and re-open the road as quickly as possible.

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“The closure is on a short stretch north of Dent Gate Lane and an official diversion, approved by Durham County Council, is signposted, to ensure motorists can safely follow roads of the same or better standard.

“It is hoped that by scheduling this within the Easter Holidays, disruption will be minimised.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause.”

Durham County Council have said diversion will be available from the south side of the closure on B6278 Harmire Road, then east on A67, then north east on A688 Roman Road, then west on B6279 Moor Lane, then south east on B6278 to the northern end of closure and vice versa.