Construction starting on A4130 Steventon lights project to boost Science Vale growth

Oxfordshire County Council is starting construction on its A4310 Steventon lights integrated transport scheme, bringing improvements to bus services, walking and cycling, with work starting on Monday 17 November. The improvements are designed to support housing and employment growth in the Science Vale area of South Oxfordshire.

The council is working with M Group Limited on the project, which will improve bus journey times and enable residents of Steventon and other nearby villages and commuters travelling to Harwell Campus and Milton Park to walk and cycle through the area if they choose.

The improvements include a dedicated eastbound bus lane, improved cycling and walking facilities and junction improvements at Steventon High Street and Trenchard Avenue.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “The Steventon lights project will make it easier and more attractive to take the bus, with the new bus lane reducing congestion and making journey times more reliable between Steventon and Milton Interchange.

“The project will also improve safety for all road users with new crossings and signals, and the new cyclist and pedestrian facilities will encourage more walking, wheeling and cycling.

“During construction we will keep an eye on local traffic conditions, including the A34, and will monitor our traffic management and reduce it if needed. There may still be delays at peak times, so plan your journeys in advance and keep up to date by checking our website.”

To prepare for construction, work has already been completed to survey and clear the area, divert utilities and clean all surface water drainage along the route.

The project will be built in six phases, with phase one starting on Monday 17 November.

A one-way traffic system will be in-place, from 17 November to 19 December, with traffic only allowed to exit onto the A4130 from Trenchard Avenue. The alternative route for traffic accessing Trenchard Avenue from A4130 is through Milton Hill.

Night work will also take place at the High Street junction, Trenchard Avenue and A4130 towards Milton Interchange, from 17 November to 3 December.

Phase one will finish on 19 December and there will be no traffic management in place over Christmas and New Year.

Phase two will begin in January with night work to remove traffic islands and daytime work to install a temporary roundabout at the junction of Steventon High Street and the A4130.

From January 2026, access onto and off the A4130 through Trenchard Avenue will be closed for the rest of construction, with traffic diverted via Milton Hill. Drivers through the area should watch out for temporary traffic signals and any new signage.

Work in the new year will involve widening the A4130 Abingdon Road, improving the Trenchard Avenue junction and installing new traffic lights, bus shelters and cycle parking.

The scheme is expected to take about one year to complete.

For more information on this scheme visit the county council website oxfordshire.gov.uk/steventonlights

Notes to editors

More information on the six phases of the project:

• Pre-Christmas 2025 work to install duct crossings and temporary footways overnight.
• Phases 2, 3 and 4 will involve carriageway widening, earthworks, drainage, footway works, signage, streetlighting, and surfacing.
  • Phase 2 will start in January 2026 with work to remove traffic islands and install a temporary roundabout at the High Street / Steventon Hill junction. A temporary roundabout will be installed at the Milton Hill/A4130 junction. Both roundabouts are subject to approvals. Work will take place in three main areas, located on the north side of the High Street / Steventon Hill signalised junction, the verge on the east side of High Street signalised junction, and the land to the south of A4130 between Trenchard Avenue and Milton Interchange.
  • Phase 3 will include works to the north side of the A4130, between the High Street junction and the pedestrian crossing / bus stops, and work on the south side of the A4130, to the west of Trenchard Avenue.
  • Phase 4 will include works on the south side of A4130, between Trenchard Avenue junction and the bend before High St / Steventon Hill junction. There will also be works to the north side of A4130 leading to Milton Interchange, and on the south side of Trenchard Avenue. Kerbing and drainage works will take place on the west side of High Street / Steventon Hill, leading south of the A4130.
• Phase 5 includes finishing works on the south side of the A4130, between Trenchard Avenue and the bend before the High Street / Steventon Hill junction. It will also include works to the north side of A4130, opposite Trenchard Avenue, and leading to the Milton Interchange. New islands and traffic signals will be installed at the High Street junction.
• Phase 6 includes works to the north side of A4130, opposite Trenchard Avenue, and leading to the Milton Interchange. New traffic islands and signals will be installed on the A4130 / Trenchard Avenue junction, as well as commissioning the traffic signals, completing surfacing, and laying road markings.

This is subject to change.

The project involves:

• Widening the A4130 Abingdon Road between the Steventon lights junction and the Milton Interchange to provide an eastbound bus lane and dedicated cycleway and footway facilities.
• Improving the Trenchard Avenue junction to increase capacity and allow for quality active travel infrastructure to support journeys on foot and by cycle.
• Adding new traffic lights with crossing points at Trenchard Avenue/ A4130 and upgrading the Steventon High Street traffic lights with crossing points.
• Providing real time bus information, including green-roof bus shelters and cycle parking to create a transport hub.

This project was known as Relief to Rowstock Phase One. Following feedback from the public consultation in October 2022, the project name has been amended.

Science Vale is a significant part of Oxfordshire with a concentration of world-class innovative research and enterprise. The area covers the towns of Wantage and Didcot, the villages of Culham, East and West Hendred, Chilton, Ardington, Harwell, Upton, East and West Hagbourne, North and South Moreton, Sutton Courtenay, Milton, Appleford, Long Wittenham, Little Wittenham, Clifton Hampden, and Berinsfield and the employment sites at Culham Campus, Harwell Campus and Milton Park.

For more information visit: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk /science-vale

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