Cameras catch 2,000 drivers during A34 viaduct repairs

The work has been completed two months early

More than 2,000 drivers have been caught by average speed cameras on the A34 near Oxford, resulting in fines totalling more than £70,300.

The cameras have been in place for the past two years during a £44m project to replace the 1960s bridge on the Wolvercote Viaduct.

The new viaduct is now open and the restrictions have been lifted, two months ahead of schedule.

The new structure has been designed to last 120 years.

Of the 2,135 speeding motorists who were caught by the average speed cameras, 1,172 paid the £60 fine and had points put on their licence and 387 have so far completed a driver education course, the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership said.

The Wolvercote Viaduct carries the A34 over the Oxford-to-Birmingham railway line, the Oxford Canal and the A40.

The Highways Agency used a construction technique that involved sliding a 5,000-tonne bridge deck into position over one night in March.

Highways Agency project manager Ian Johnson said: "We are delighted at how well this project has gone.

"Our engineers have worked extremely hard throughout the last two years to keep delays to road users to an absolute minimum, and keep traffic around Oxford flowing."

Work underneath the bridge continues, with some restrictions remaining on the A40 until the project is completed in August.