A £32 million budget for roadworks across Oxfordshire will be rolled out by the end of this month.

Oxfordshire County Council announced on Monday it will be spending £32 million on the roads across the county in the new financial year, starting from April.

The council said roads, bridges, drainage, pavements and streetlights will all be repaired as part of a 12-month work programme.

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A statement from the council said it was part of a wider investment into highway infrastructure.

Liam Walker, OCC cabinet member for highways delivery and operations, said the announcement was great news for communities, businesses and commuters across Oxfordshire.

What is it being spent on?

Big projects on the programme for the coming financial year include works at:

  • Oxford Road in Banbury
  • Northcourt Road in Abingdon
  • Burwell Drive and West End in Witney
  • Worcester Street, Hythe Bridge Street and George Street in Oxford

Other work is planned for roads in rural areas of Oxfordshire as well.

A £30 million pot of money was first agreed for next year's roadworks when the county council agreed its budget in February.

But with the addition of £1.4 million to build an embankment at Tetworth, the total budget for the highways capital programme has now risen to £32 million.

And £30 million has been earmarked each year for the next five years up until 2024/25 for further roadworks, though the exact projects this will be spent on has not been decided yet.

Mr Walker added: “We are committed to getting the most out of every pound that we spend on Oxfordshire’s roads.

"That means targeting our money where it will make the biggest improvements and also working with our contractors to research and use innovative techniques that could make our money go further.”

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The list of projects include resurfacing, embankment repairs, road edge strengthening, surface dressing to water proof and extend the life of road surfaces and recycling schemes where the council employs a new techniques to reuse old road materials.

For the first time, the county council has published a list of what works it is carrying out, where they are, and how much they are costing.

Mr Walker said this had been done in the interest of transparent working, but also to give residents an idea of just how much roadworks cost.

Last year the county council, with its contractors Skanska, became the first council in the country to lay a new surfacing material on a road near Witney.

The graphene-enhanced asphalt, which is fully recyclable is now being monitored on the main road in Curbridge to see if it lasts longer than a normal asphalt road surface.