A community drop-in event will give residents and business owners the chance to ask questions about the extended closure of Botley Road.

Oxford’s Botley Road was closed in April 2023 and last week it was announced it will remain closed to through traffic for a further year - meaning the closure has lasted for 18 months.

The original plan was to reopen the road at the end of next month when utility diversion work was due to be completed, and then close it again to through traffic from March to October 2024 for highway work and the replacement of Botley railway bridge.

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However, Network Rail has not been able to keep to this schedule due to problems caused by the discovery of an inverted brick arch under the surface, which stretches beneath the railway bridge.

The road will now not reopen until the project is completed in October 2024.

The works are part of the multi-million-pound project to upgrade Oxford station, the railway and the surrounding local road network.

Oxfordshire County Council said safer junctions will be created with Botley Road and improvements to bus travel as well as more space for cyclists and pedestrians through the addition of a four-metre cycle and footway on each side of the main road.   

Network Rail is holding a community drop-in at West Oxford Community Centre on Wednesday, September 27 between 2.30pm and 6pm where members of the project team will be available to answer questions.