CHRISTMAS shoppers in Wycombe will face fewer queues from this weekend after the council announced it is partially reopening Abbey Way Flyover.

Cones on part of the closed lane will be removed to cope with the extra festive shopping traffic from this morning.

Transport for Bucks says traffic leaving Lily's walk turning left onto Abbey Way should see a marked improvement in flow toward the Eden roundabout where both lanes will be open.

Access into Lily's walk from Abbey Way will remain closed.

The decision has been taken after a traffic flow assessment and negotiations with Wycombe District Council and Eden.

Authorities hope the measures will improve the movement of vehicles west towards the Eden roundabout.

The flyover linking the east and west of town has been closed since May, with a study revealing deficiencies in its parapets.

It will require work to maintain its overall structure as an active highway over the next couple of years, according to Bucks County Council.

However, the route may become redundant and could be demolished after a £4million plan to reroute Wycombe’s road network was given the go ahead.

The new route will see traffic sent past Wycombe Hospital in Queen Alexander Road, through the old gasworks site, along Desborough Road, into Westbourne Street and onto a new roundabout on West Wycombe Road.

TfB has not yet announced when the lane closure will be put back in place.