The Staples Corner Flyover on the North Circular (A406) will be closed for three weekends in September for essential refurbishment, says Transport for London (TfL).

During the closures all main and local roads in the surrounding area will be extremely busy, so road users are advised to allow more time for journeys and use alternative routes where possible.

The closures are to allow a 40-strong workforce to replace two 22-metre long steel expansion joints. The joints, which are vital to allow the flyover to cope with temperature change, were repaired 11 years ago, but are now in a poor condition and it is essential to replace them to avoid long-term disruption to motorists.

TfL says it considered every alternative to the full closure of the flyover, however to do this work using part-closures would have taken nearly 50 days and would have affected many more road users.

The flyover will be fully closed in both directions between the following times:

• 22:00 Friday, September 1 - 05:00 Monday, September 4
• 22:00 Friday, September 8 - 05:00 Monday, September 11
• 00:01 – 23:59 Sunday, September 17

In addition to the three full weekend closures, preparation and resurfacing work will also affect traffic at other times:

• The flyover will be reduced to one lane in each direction for four consecutive nights between 22:00 and 05:00 from Monday, August 28.
• The flyover will be closed eastbound from 22:00 Monday, September 18 to 05:00 Tuesday, September 19, and westbound from 22:00 Tuesday, September 19 to 05:00 Wednesday, September 20

Leon Daniels, managing director of Surface Transport at TfL, said: “We’re sorry for the disruption this vital refurbishment of the Staples Corner Flyover will cause. We will be working as fast as we can to replace the expansion joints, which is essential to extend the life span of the flyover.

“During the closures road users in the area should allow more time for their journeys and, where possible, consider alternative routes.”

TfL says it has a number of measures in place to help reduce the impact of the closure, including:

• Rapid response units placed around the area on standby to clear any incidents or accidents on surrounding roads.
• Messaging advising drivers of the closures.
• Re-phasing of traffic signals in the area to reduce disruption as much as possible and ease displaced traffic.
• Cancellation of any non-urgent roadworks in the local area.