ROADWORKS prompted major congestion on Oxford's ring road this morning.

Oxfordshire County Council advised drivers to avoid the Eastern Bypass, as surface dressing works have caused lane closures in both directions.

Traffic was particularly bad between Littlemore Roundabout and Oxford Retail Park roundabout, with miles of traffic. 

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Lane closures stretched all the way to the Headington (Green Road) Roundabout.

Oxford Mail:

Traffic on the ring road shown this morning at 7.45am

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Martin Crabtree said the team was carrying out an 'initial sweep' following surface dressing, which should be completed by 'lunch time' today.

He added: "Sweeping and surface dressing has to be done in daylight for safety reasons, however the long-term benefits for the road surface should be worth the short-term inconvenience. 

"The lane closures are necessary to control the speed  of vehicles to ensure the site is safe during the sweeping."

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The lane closures will be reinstated from 9.30am tomorrow for a second sweep, and removed afterwards.

The road will be closed again from 7.30pm on Sunday for a final sweep and to install road markings and studs. 

One driver said it had taken her 25 minutes to get from Barton Leisure Centre to Headington Roundabout this morning.

Another driver, commenting on this article, said they had passed the roadworks at 6.45am but no workers were on site, adding: "There should be 24-hour roadworks to get this mess cleared."

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Tina Matthews, commenting on the Oxford Mail's Facebook page, said Barton congestion this morning was 'the worst I have seen it in all the years I have been here.'

She added: "[It was] tailed back on all the side streets and the streets that run off the side streets. 

"This is very bad timing by OCC who should really rethink when they do repair work.

"Barton needs to have more points of egress."

Check our live traffic feed for the latest updates on Oxfordshire's roads.