A MAJOR redesign of one of the busiest spine roads heading into Bicester town centre is finished weeks ahead of the massive expansion opening at Bicester Village.

More than 30 new shops will be opening at the popular designer outlet in Pingle Drive in the coming weeks and is expected to attract thousands of people to Bicester and its roads.

But a complete overhaul of the roads neighbouring Bicester Village has gone hand in hand with its expansion work and hoped will tackle any added pressure on the town's roads network.

New features for the long-running problem area which is a main route into the centre for drivers include a hamburger-style roundabout, a 'teardrop junction', extra lanes and synced traffic lights.

The first phase of the improvement works included the new roundabout and synced traffic lights being installed by February on the A41 next to the Esso petrol services.

Following this work moved along the road to the junction with Pingle Drive which is the entrance for Bicester Village shoppers travelling by car.

Work has been ploughing ahead since the start of this year on expanding the area, by adding a number of extra lanes both in and out of the outlet as well as heading in to the centre of Bicester.

Bicester Village say this has been done by creating a 'teardrop junction' at the junction into the outlet to allow for dedicated lanes in and out of the shopping outlet.

Bicester Village spokeswoman Miranda Markham said: "We would like to thank our local authority partners and, most importantly, the whole community of Bicester for their patience while the substantive works have taken place.

"We are aware these major improvements are long awaited and we hope they will support the growing town in creating a vibrant local economy for years to come."

The new road layout are expected to be put to the test in coming weeks as the new Bicester Village expansion of shops are planned to open on October 19.

This includes 31 new shops and two new restaurants, including designer brands such as Markus Lupfer, Brora, Chinti and Parker, and Ross Barr which are among those announced as concessions within shops in the new expansion.

The new-look designer outlet will also include an additional 450 parking spaces along with an impressive public art installation to create an illuminated forest gateway.