Council leader disappointed Botley Road staying closed
Network Rail and the county[1] council agreed to close the road at the rail bridge as part of a £161m revamp of Oxford rail station.
The closure started in April and the rail authority had promised the road would reopen for four months from the end of October.
But earlier this week rail bosses announced that the work has taken longer than expected due to various complications and now the road will remain closed until October 2024.
Traders have already condemned the decision and Bethia Thomas, leader of Vale[3] of White Horse District Council, described the news as “frustrating”.
She said: “Like many, I’m disappointed with Network Rail’s news that they’re keeping Botley Road closed until October next year.
“This is very frustrating for so many, access to Oxford has become a significant challenge for many in the Vale, particularly our residents in Botley and the Western Vale.
“The disruption has been unfairly compounded by the work National Highways are doing at the Botley Interchange and the A34, taking place at the same time as the Network Rail improvements. This work is expected to continue until March 2024. I can fully sympathise and share everyone’s frustration having been caught in the gridlock myself last week on the way into Oxford on council business.”
Ms Thomas said people could appreciate the bigger picture of delivering improvements to the station and access at the bridge, but the disruption had to be managed carefully.
“This is particularly unwelcome news as schools return and we head towards autumn and Christmas,” she added.
“Although this work is completely out of the council’s hands, we will continue to closely monitor the progress and maintain pressure on Network Rail and National Highways to ensure that the work is completed as swiftly as possible, and the road is reopened as soon as possible for the benefit of our community.”
The council leader said people should plan ahead, follow the signs and leave extra time for any journeys around Botley, with Oxfordshire County Council’s website is a very good source of information for alternative transport and public transport arrangements as well as road work updates.
Traders who were looking forward to the road reopening are fearful their takings will be hit by the extended closure.
Hera Rahnamay had been excitedly telling her customers at Hera salon that the road would soon reopen.
“I was really happy, telling my customers that it would reopen by October and there would be no issue,” said the 35-year-old salon owner.
“It is so disappointing and sad it won’t reopen then. We’re a small business. We’ve only been open for two-and-a-half years.”
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Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. [6]
He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.
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