Oxford roadworks will be 'pure hell', motorists fear

Work on the roundabouts at Banbury and Woodstock starts at 20:00 BST and is expected to take up to 16 months

Motorists fear £10m of roadworks at two busy Oxford junctions will cause "16 months of pure hell".

A major overhaul of two roundabouts at Cutteslowe and Wolvercote began on Monday night.

Work includes widening approach roads, new traffic lights, improved crossings and cycle lanes.

Oxfordshire County Council said the scheme was necessary for the roads to cope with planned developments around the city.

David Nimmo Smith, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for the environment, said the work would cause "problems" for drivers in the short-term, but in the long-term there were benefits and the "flow of traffic would be significantly improved".

'Confusion and delays'

One resident, Trevor Green, told BBC Oxford he would not take on any work in north Oxford because he would "waste an hour travelling" through the roadworks.

"This is going to be 16 months of pure hell. Basically, I won't take on any work in that direction," he said.

Another motorist, Nigel Rosser, said: "This is all part of the insanity of having these road works at the same time. The major routes into Oxford - Woodstock and Banbury roads - and from the rail station, all seems to be clogged up and it doesn't seem right or logical."

North Oxford resident Robert De Newtown said the impact was going to be "huge" and would affect shopping, school runs and employment and would have an economic cost.

The county council has urged motorists to find alternative methods to get into the city such as using buses or the park and ride.

Last year work to upgrade the A423 Kennington and London Road caused traffic chaos with some motorists stuck in traffic for three hours.

Both are major routes into the city with about 100,000 vehicles using the junctions every day