The A34, which snakes its way through the Oxfordshire countryside, is a motorway in all but name and construction.

Connecting the South Coast to the Midlands and beyond, it takes a thundering 79,000 vehicles a day. Most towns and villages along its route have been bypassed over the years.

However, it’s a different story here in Oxford. As many of us know, it worms its way over Botley on a flyover running parallel with Westminster Way and brings misery to thousands every time a crash on its dual carriageway causes gridlock in the city and beyond.

‘What do we do with the A34?’ is a question that has been on many a motorist, traffic expert and Government minister’s lips for decades.

There has never been a definitive answer. Yes, hard shoulders would help. Emergency vehicles could get though. But how would they be constructed when the A34 borders valued countryside and flood plains.

Plans to widen the northbound approach to the M40 are to be welcomed but are only the tip of the iceberg. The Government must look at what can be done to make this major road both safer and more efficient.

At a time when the economy desperately needs a shot in the arm, there is no room for kicking this age-old problem into the long grass.

Ministers urgently need to commission research and come up with a plan – lives and jobs depend on it.