The timetable may have changed, but there can be no doubting that months of disruption lay ahead for the county’s motorists when bridge rebuilding work gets under way.


Sadly, future misery for drivers is just about the only certainty that we can report when it comes to Network Rail’s scheduled rail line projects.


We had anticipated that details of its plans to rebuild 28 bridges would be released in one go, in a joined-up rail scheme in every sense.


News of the hasty redrawing of plans, with the promise of “at least” four weeks’ notice before each road closure, will reassure no one.


The need to get on with the work will become increasingly urgent, with the bridge projects having to fit in with the £1bn electrification of the Great Western main-line from London to Cardiff.


The section of line between London and Oxford via Didcot is due to be electrified by January 1, 2017, so the works window of opportunity is a small one. With Network Rail facing the prospect of having to raise a number of Victorian bridges by a number of feet, motorists could face the prospect of 19 road closures, for up to four months at a time. And there is no guarantee new obstacles will not arise, delaying work further.
Readers will recall Network Rail had requested the closure of the commuter route from Wantage to Oxford. It had wanted to shut the A338 from February for six months to rebuild a bridge in Grove.


But Oxfordshire County Council said turned down the request in order to “push for a solution that will mitigate the disruption”.


As county council leader, Ian Hudspeth, had warned the implications of each and every closure must be examined carefully.
The need for clarity about the work in Grove, in particular, remains essential.


Network Rail is now insisting on the need for the programme to be “fluid”, perhaps an unfortunate word to use after disruption and closure of so many of the county’s roads due to flooding.
But the key will be careful planning and reasonable notice for drivers.
With the original timetable now torn up, a fluid approach to bridges could quickly become meandering or chaotic. A stop-start approach will be in no one’s interest.