03
July
2015
|
16:22
Europe/London

Major road improvement scheme starts on 21 July

Oxfordshire County Council is investing more than £10million to increase capacity at Cutteslowe and Wolvercote roundabouts and their approach roads - both major junctions on routes into and around Oxford.

This is the latest in a series of improvement schemes which have already seen the A423 Kennington and London Road in Oxford upgraded.

Key junctions

Cutteslowe and Wolvercote roundabouts, on Banbury and Woodstock Road respectively, are key junctions on routes into and around the city that are already heavily congested at peak times.

A number of potential major developments which include the development of the Northern Gateway, Barton Park, housing and employment growth in west and north Oxfordshire, The Westgate Centre and the new rail station next to Water Eaton park and ride (Oxford Parkway) will lead to increased demand at the roundabouts in coming years.

As well as congestion, the area has a number of other challenges. It is the junction of several major routes, and there are concerns with local access and environmental issues such as noise and air pollution.

The work will include:

  • introducing traffic lights on both roundabouts
  • widening of the main approaches at A40 North Bypass Road, A44 Woodstock Road, Sunderland Avenue and A40 Elsfield Way
  • installing new pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities
  • introducing new off-carriageway cycle facilities
  • introduction of new or reduced speed limits on A40 North Bypass Road, A44 Woodstock Road, A40 Elsfield Way and A40 North Way
  • associated work such as resurfacing, street lighting and drainage.

Plan your journeys

The work is expected to take up to 16 months to complete and anyone travelling through the area should expect considerably longer journey times, particularly if travelling at peak times.

The two roundabouts currently take in the region of 100,000 vehicles a day.

County Councillor David Nimmo Smith, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “I am pleased that we are starting work on these two major junctions as action is needed now if we are to avoid large scale congestion becoming a permanent feature of life in the future.

“Clearly there will be a major impact on traffic during the work which is unfortunate but unavoidable - the message now is that people should look closely at how they travel and consider alternatives.

“The county council has already completed work on many of the junctions on the east and southern parts of the ring road which may provide better alternative routes around and into Oxford for some drivers.

“The city also has a number of park and ride sites and good train services from many locations – driving is not the only option and anyone who does drive through the area must expect delays if they travel at the busiest times.

“If we didn’t do this work, commuters would face a future of congestion and growth in key areas would be held back.

“By doing both roundabouts at the same time we are reducing the amount of time this part of the road network will be affected. These junctions are so close together that any works on one junction will inevitably significantly impact on the other junction.  Doing each scheme separately would also mean disruption in this area would last for more than two years.”

Find out more

To find out more about the work, visit www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/A40roundabouts or you can also sign up to email bulletins and find out more about journey planning and major transport improvement schemes at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/travelchoices

A series of drop-in exhibitions have been organised to allow anyone interested to find out more. These are on:

  • Tuesday 7 July between 6:30pm and 8pm. Cutteslowe Community Centre, 31 Wren Road, Oxford, OX2 7SX
  • Wednesday 8 July between 10:00am and 3pm.  Cutteslowe Community Centre, 31 Wren Road, Oxford, OX2 7SX
  • Friday 10 July between 10:30am and 7:30pm.  The Oxford Hotel, Godstow Road, Wolvercote, OX2 8PG.