I have to disagree with Ralph Ingham-Johnson (“Shores Green project may work if all of A40 were dual carriageway”, July 18, above) as the CPRE are to be congratulated on stopping Oxfordshire County Council wasting taxpayers’ money on a pointless road that would only succeed in adding traffic congestion to both sides of Witney.

If Mr Ingham-Johnson had read any of Oxfordshire County Council’s traffic analysis figures, he would see that the Cogges Link Road would give him the option of sitting in a traffic jam on Bridge Street or sitting in a worse traffic jam on Station Lane or Witan Way, ‘Hobson’s Choice’ if you ask me.

As for Mr Ingham-Johnson’s suggestion that the crossover bridge be used to “test” the idea of the Shores Green Slips Road junction (SGSR), this would be yet another waste of taxpayers’ money trying to compare apples and pears.

s The farmer’s bridge cannot replicate the SGSR as Mr Ingham-Johnson himself states the bridge does not benefit from run-on/run- off lanes — the whole idea of SGSR.

s The farmer’s bridge is not suitable for HGVs or buses/coaches and, therefore, cannot provide a true test of the benefit of SGSR — SGSR will be the same as all junctions joining/leaving a dual carriageway.

Vehicles of all descriptions make these manoeuvres every day – the A40 is not a trunk road and has not been a trunk road since 2004.

The de-trunking of the A40 suggests that the Highways Agency does not consider the A40 to be busy enough to be a trunk road — SGSR will remove traffic not wanting to access the centre of Witney, freeing up space in Bridge Street for people in their small, low-powered cars to use to access the centre of Witney. All in all, well done CPRE.

Owen Edwards Eton Close Witney