Banbury,
09
August
2019
|
09:58
Europe/London

Banbury and Chipping Norton road safety works going well

Work by Oxfordshire County Council to reduce accidents on an important route between Banbury and Chipping Norton is well underway.

The county council is making major improvements to the A361 as part of a £4.135m project funded by the Department for Transport.

When complete the route will benefit from resurfacing, improved drainage, improved visibility and ‘cats eyes’ on the bends, footpath improvements, junction improvements on Wykham Lane and Bloxham Grove Road, better signs and lining and speed limit reductions.

The extent of the project is from the new Roundabout in Banbury to A3400 Roundabout in Chipping Norton. Resurfacing will be done along the 16km stretch according to need so that the best use is made of the available funds.

Reducing accident risk

The Road Safety Foundation (RSF) identified A361, between Banbury and Chipping Norton, as one of the 50 sections of UK A-class roads with the highest risk of fatal and serious road traffic accidents.

The accidents recorded on the route were quite diverse but include loss of control incidents, particularly at bends and junction accidents. The higher severity accidents are mainly on the more rural stretches, with comparatively few being recorded within the two villages Bloxham and South Newington.

Much-needed investment

County Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet member for Environment, said: “This is a major and much-needed investment into one of the area’s most used routes.

“The work is progressing well and with the roads being quieter during the school holidays it shouldn’t have too much of an impact on too many people.

“However, if you do use the route I would advise you to look at the website and find out what’s ahead so that you can plan your journeys.”

You can find out more about the work here - https://bit.ly/31rRzBx

In the coming months the team will be designing a shared-use footway to run from Crouch Cottages to Chipperfield Park Road, working on detailed designs for the Wykham Lane junction with work expected to start in the new year, improving one of the bends south of South Newington and, finally, programming the signing and lining works. Bloxham Grove Rd/Ell’s Lane Junction design have now been completed and the improvement works will start in September.