ROADWORKS closing off a major junction are set to finish early.

Road closures were put in place in July when work to improve the Vogue Gyratory in Lewes Road, Brighton, began.

It was expected to end on December 19 but yesterday Brighton and Hove City Council said the road would be fully reopen by this weekend.

There will still be work to finish but that will not involve road closures, a spokeswoman said.

The project aims to make one of the city’s busiest carriageways safer for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists.

Cyclists will get a three-second head start at traffic lights and a continuous 2m-wide northbound cycle lane is meant to make drivers more aware.

Road markings will be made clearer and traffic light technology has been updated to reduce traffic jams.

The work has disrupted the normal traffic flow for six months and at one point the entire section was closed off completely at night for a week.

Traders previously claimed the roadworks had affected business and made it difficult for them to receive deliveries. They said there was nowhere for vehicles to pull over, making it unsafe for customers to stop outside.

Glenn Cabell, of Dragon Chinese Food Specialists, said: “It was taking us so long to do home deliveries and collect stock the journey wasn’t worth it. It would take us about half an hour to drive about 500m in our van.

“Drivers would also get confused when the road markings had not been put down again and would suddenly realise they were in a bus lane.

“The traffic seems to be flowing reasonably smoothly now. I’m really pleased to hear the work could be completed earlier than expected.”

Ian Davey, councillor for transport, has apologised for the disruption but said – once finished – the junction would be “safer and more pleasant”.