HEADINGTON could become ‘as congested as it was when Oxford United played at the Manor’ after it was revealed two phases of a transport improvement scheme would overlap.

Plans for the third phase of the £12.5m Access to Headington improvement scheme were revealed yesterday.

From June 26 work will begin on the roundabout outside the John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way and Cherwell Drive along to the Marsh Lane roundabout with temporary traffic lights and reduced lanes.

But residents were concerned that work at The Slade - phase two of the project - would not be finished before phase three begins.

Ken Merry, who lives on Saxon Way, near the John Radcliffe and Cherwell Drive said things could get much worse in the coming months.

The 76-year-old said: “The traffic throughout the scheme so far has been horrendous

“When this next phase starts it’s going to be as bad as it was when Oxford United played at the Manor Ground on a Saturday, when the whole of Headington was a no-go area.

The Slade section of the scheme will finish in October leaving more than three months with both phases running concurrently.

Veronica Savage, who has lived in Cherwell Drive since 1964, said: “It’s going to be absolute chaos, we can barely get off our driveway at the moment.

“We have seen many vehicles coming through in recent months and the house shakes with the vibrations.

“I was also disappointed to see Cherwell Drive will not be resurfaced - it hasn’t been since I moved in in the 1960s.”

The use of traffic lights at the roundabout outside the John Radcliffe Hospital and at Marsh Lane also drew criticism.

County councillor Roz Smith said she was ‘really concerned’ about ambulance access to the hospital.

She said: “With traffic lights and vehicles queued behind them it will be harder for cars to get out of the way for ambulances - and they work well at the moment.

Project sponsor Isaac Webb said the phases had to overlap to get the project done in a timely manner.

He said: “If we did each phase one after the other we would be doing the scheme for a very long time.

“Also people using Headley Way don’t tend to use The Slade, so the phases will have less of an impact on each other.”

Mr Webb added that the area around the John Radcliffe Hospital would be monitored 24/7 and could be altered to allow emergency vehicles access.