London 2012: Surrey cycle road race barriers being put out

Road closures will be in place as the Olympic cycling road race competitors travel through Surrey

Roadside barriers will be appearing in the coming days along the route of the Olympic cycle road race in preparation for the event at the end of this month.

Surrey County Council said 42 miles of barriers were needed to create "the largest Olympic venue from scratch".

It said they would be stacked and tethered by the side of the road ready for the first race on 28 July.

Staging the Surrey section of the event requires 5,000 cones, 4,000 road signs and 545 road closures, it added.

There will also be 6,000 people involved including stewards and volunteers.

The men's race is on 28 July, with the women's the following day, and the cycling time trials on 1 August.

The road race on the opening weekend of the Olympics takes cyclists from the Mall, through west London, out to Surrey and back again, and includes a 9.6-mile (15.5km) circuit around Box Hill.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected to flock to Surrey to watch the Olympic events.

Helyn Clack, cabinet member for community services and the 2012 Games, said: "We'll be creating the largest venues of the Olympic Games from scratch which is a big job and these statistics hammer home the sheer scale of the task.

"Preparations have been going on for more than two years to ensure the Games in Surrey are a success."

<link> <caption>Residents and businesses in the county have been urged to plan ahead</caption> <url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-18776157" platform="highweb"/> </link> and be prepared for road closures, parking restrictions and issues caused by hundreds of thousands of extra people coming to watch the races.

They have been sent newsletters and are advised to visit <link> <caption>Go Surrey</caption> <url href="http://www.gosurrey.info/" platform="highweb"/> </link> for further information.