Drivers and commuters were furious as Oxford became gridlocked due to several road works taking place across the city with some set to last for three more days.
Traffic tailed back along Botley Road today due to a closure on Park End Street on Frideswide Square to strengthen the bus stop and the running lanes. Drivers were forced to take diverted routes along Osney Lane as city-bound traffic built up. Oxfordshire County Council has said these road works could continue until Friday.
There were also lane closures on the A40 eastbound approaching Wolvercote roundabout, and the A412 southbound approaching Horspath.
Major delays were also seen across the city as a result of lane closures and temporary lights for Thames Water works.
Thames Water works also caused major delays with temporary lights on Thames Street. Huge traffic jams were also seen at the Hinksey Hill interchange due to lane closures on the A423 in both directions in Kennington for Thames water pipe repairs.
Drivers commented on the Oxford Mail Facebook page and said short journeys took them over an hour. Others are angry at the lack of notice for the road closures and questioned why the works did not take place at night when traffic would be less busy.
Zoe Brown runs a mobile catering business on Oxford’s Osney Mead industrial estate. She said: “The traffic has been a nightmare. It took me an hour to get in from Littlemore this morning. And they haven’t warned people properly. There was a sign on Osney Lane saying the road would be closed on September 22 – but this is a day early and on a different road.
“Why don’t they do this overnight when there’s no one around?”
The traffic problems hit Oxford’s crown court too, with a drugs and money laundering trial having to start late after barristers got stuck in traffic. One judge apologised to barristers when he was 15 minutes late in starting his list, telling them: “The traffic was particularly difficult.” Another judge was asked to return to court at 2pm – after the lunch break – and replied: “I’m certainly not going out in the car.”
Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “It’s clear that our medieval roads are at capacity. We’ve inherited a network from the previous administration who weren’t prepared to take the radical changes necessary to fundamentally tackle the problem. We will because it’s clear, this can’t go on.”
Thames Water have said the works were to fix a leak and apologised for the lack of notice.
A spokesperson said: “The Southern Bypass work is to fix some leaks on a water pipe that were reported to us last week. Where possible we try to give advanced notice of this type of work but the council requested it be done this week, so we’re sorry we weren’t able to warn people on this occasion. We appreciate our roadworks happening at the same time as work by other utility companies and the council makes life difficult for motorists in a crowded city and we’ll finish up as soon as we possibly can.
“We’ve fixed the leaks and, providing we don’t find any more when we make one last inspection of the pipe tonight, we expect to reopen the closed lanes tomorrow.”
Thames Water also explained that they would not be able to work just overnight to prevent traffic in the city. The water company said this is because there would be open holes left in the ground which would be dangerous and too deep to just put a cover over.
South Central Ambulance Service is grateful for drivers who make space for their ambulances on the roads.
A spokesperson said: “Like other road users our staff can be challenged on the roads getting to work due to such things as road works etc. Our emergency staff are able to continue to reach our patients due the utilisation of blue lights and sirens and we are very grateful to members of the public who are aware of our presence and are able to make space for us to respond.”
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