A MAJOR road closure in Fairlie will be taking place across a full weekend in mid-March.

Scotland Transerv - the maintenance operators of the A78 - has been involved in consultations with the local authority, emergency services and key stakeholders regarding the move which is expected to cause major disruption and result in a lengthy diversion.

The roads authority is keen to complete the project, the first part of which was completed in the autumn during a previous full weekend closure.

The section of A78 which will be closed this time will cover the Main Road from The Causeway to Kaim View.

A spokesman for Transerv stated: "In order to complete this £110k project as quickly and safely as possible on behalf of Transport Scotland, we will require to close the trunk road over the weekend of 13 to 16 March.

"Because the trunk road is relatively narrow in this area, it isn’t possible to utilise other forms of traffic management.

"The safety of our employees, our contractors and the travelling public is always of paramount importance in the delivery of our work."

Scotland TranServ say they understand the diversion will cause inconvenience to drivers, however insist it is 'unavoidable' to complete this short-term project.

They say that by delivering long-term road surface improvements, 'everyone will benefit in the long run'.

The closure will begin from 8pm on Friday 13 March and be lifted at 6am on Monday 16 March.

Drivers are being advised to allow extra time for their journey.

Special arrangements will be made for emergency service vehicles, however no additional measures will be made for windfarm or oversize vehicles.

Motorists will be able to access live trunk road information at trafficscotland.org, or by following @trafficscotland on Twitter.

Brian Flannigan, owner of the Village Inn, says he believes that local businesses suffered as a result of the first closure and wants better access for locals this time around.

It was reported at the recent Fairlie Community Council meeting that only some residents were able to access their homes as promised and that others, including carers, were denied access.

Councillor Ian Murdoch says he previously met with Transerv to ensure the necessary local access and was disappointed that this was not given.