THE A34 has been branded “one of the worst roads in the country” as it’s revealed more than 1,800 collisions on the Oxfordshire stretch have claimed 56 lives over almost two decades and left thousands injured.

Records dating back more than 30 years chronicle decades of congestion, accident blackspots and numerous safety campaigns but figures revealed for the first time show the shocking reality – prompting urgent calls for action.

Up to 79,000 vehicles use the Oxfordshire stretch of the key link road every day and since 1994 a total of 2,040 collisions have been recorded claiming 56 lives, leaving 278 people seriously injured and 2,600 with minor injuries.

Last Thursday, traffic chaos around Oxford and the wider county ensued following a crash between two lorries and a car which closed the A34 northbound near Kidlington. Queues were reported as far back as Abingdon.

On Wednesday, motorists faced long delays because of a broken-down vehicle northbound.

Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood has called for “urgent investment” to tackle “one of the biggest issues standing between Oxfordshire and economic growth.”

She said unless something was done investors would not come to Oxfordshire because of delays on the road affecting employees and supplies.

Jack Godfrey, a director at haulage firm J Godfrey and Son, based in Faringdon, says his firm has felt the serious financial impact of delays on the A34. He estimates that every time one of his drivers is held up in traffic it costs around £100 an hour. That happens up to five times a week, costing more than £31,000 every year.

He added: “It’s just a case of the volume of traffic.

“It is always crammed from the M40 back to Botley.”

There have been numerous calls over the years for action to be taken as well as countless incidents of gridlock and congestion on the major artery.

Stuart Adams, manager at haulage business DA Clayton, based in Bicester, said many of his drivers ran out of hours while stuck in traffic and have be replaced with a new driver.

West Oxfordshire-based haulier and former county councillor Steve Hayward described the A34 as “one of the worst roads in the country” because it had been neglected.

Gavin Spencer, from the Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce, said the traffic problems on the A34 had impacted on businesses for a number of years.

He said the chamber would continue to lobby for improvements.

Modern day scenes of tailbacks for miles are not new. As far back as 1980 campaigns were launched for a safer A34.

Protestor Ron Perry devoted more than 15 years of his spare time to the fight and in October 1980 admitted: “There is still a lot to be done.”

The same month an investigation by the Oxford Mail revealed that 25 people were killed in 15 years on the road.

The A34 originally began in Winchester back in 1922 and the route was much shorter than it is today.

Chilton Hill was the last section between Oxford and Newbury to be improved, in the late eighties.

In August 1983, work began on one of the last major safety improvements on the then notorious “murder mile” between Yarnton and Beg-broke. But many believe problems on the road have been ignored over the years.

Ms Blackwood believes there are measures that could be taken to alleviate the congestion. She said: “We need to look at the hard shoulders. “One of the things which causes a huge amount of damage is that often emergency and recovery vehicles can’t get through to the scene of incidents.”

She said variable speed limits could be tested to restrict the amount of traffic flow at busy times, and said she had put pressure on Transport Minister Stephen Hammond to come up with a solution.

Mr Hammond was unavailable for comment, but Department for Transport spokesman Melanie Purkis said the Government recognised the vital importance of the A34 and that it is investing millions of pounds on road improvements.

Highways Agency spokeswoman Jane Manning said: “By Spring 2015 we will have widened the A34 northbound approach to the A34/M40 junction 9.”

A34 CONGESTION AND CAMPAIGNS

  • February 1979: The stretch between Pear Tree roundabout and Chipping Norton is closed due to snow.
  • December 1982: The Department of Transport says it’s speeding up improvements at an accident blackspot between Chilton and East Ilsley.
  • April 1990: A campaign aimed at reducing the number of fatal accidents on the then A34 between Yarnton and the Oxfordshire and Warwickshire border is launched.
  • October 1998: Chaos ensues as the A34 is closed northbound between Botley and the Pear Tree roundabout for five weeks for resurfacing.
  • September 2001: Campaigners in and around Didcot press for improvements to the busy Didcot-Milton Heights A34 interchange.
  • March 2002: Bicester county councillor Charles Shouler calls for a second slip road to be built at the A34 Wendlebury junction for traffic heading to London.
  • July 2003: Vale of White Horse district councillor Terry Cox claims A34 jams are threatening the county’s economy.
  • August 2005: Government reveals there are no realistic offers of funding for the A34 on the table until 2016.
  • August 2006: The Haulage Association and Oxford East MP Andrew Smith call for the road to be widened to three lanes, above.
  • February 2013: Plans for a £11m bid to turn the Milton Interchange near Didcot into a hamburger roundabout are announced.

NEW ROUTES

THE original 1922 route of the A34 was Winchester to Oxford, much shorter than it is today.
 

It was extended to Manchester in 1935 replacing part of the A42, A455, part of the A449 and A526.
 

When the Oxford Ring Road was completed to the west of Oxford in 1962, the old route through the city was renumbered the A4144.
 

On completion of the Abingdon Bypass in the 1970s, the old route from the Oxford Ring Road through Abingdon and Steventon to Chilton was partly declassified.
 

Shortly after the completion of the M40 motorway in 1991, the road between Oxford and Solihull was renumbered.  The A34 was diverted north from the Oxford Ring Road to the M40 along parts of the former routes of the A43 and A421.