COMMUTERS frustrated by massive delays at Oxford's Green Road Roundabout have been told congestion will not be alleviated by doing the work at night.

Motorists stuck in traffic jams will have to continue to queue as the county council insists it will carry on working during the day.

The council denies that financial considerations have influenced its decision, saying that doing the work at night is not an option because of noise pollution.

David Robertson, cabinet member for transport, said: "The problem is the noise for surrounding neighbourhoods makes night work out of the question.

"There are a considerable number of houses and schools in the area and we have already spoken to residents concerned about noise. Noise does not hover over one place, it travels.

"It is not a matter of cost. Obviously we spend money as wisely and sensibly as possible and we want to get the best value for money and some work is scheduled to be carried out at night. We will be doing some of the resurfacing towards the end of the project at night, as this will have a minimal impact." The works are carried out on weekdays and on Saturdays until 4pm. Mr Robertson said work would not be done on a Sunday because it was a "day of rest".

A new road through the centre of the roundabout will be created to link both sides of the A40, which, once finished, in December, should ease congestion.

Ironically creating the so-called 'hamburger' has led to a major slump in trade at the franchise of fast food firm McDonald's on the roundabout.

McDonald's manager Sam Muthu said sales had fallen by 30 per cent since the start of work on the roundabout.

He said: "It is very serious for us and we are trying to do as many promotional offers as possible to try to attract more customers. We are really having to pull out all the stops to stay afloat and are just keeping our fingers crossed for the next month or so, but hopefully we will survive."

Other businesses in the area are also concerned for their futures having already noticed a significant slump in trade just nine days into the 42 weeks of disruption.

The Roundway pharmacy is situated in Green Road. Owner Selma Harb said: "It is obvious that the roadworks are having a huge impact in the number of people coming in here. It's a nightmare."

Up to 50 funerals at Oxford Crematorium in Barton have been delayed by up to an hour because mourners have been caught in traffic jams.

Residents of Wheatley, Garsington and Horspath have also complained of hundreds more drivers rat-running through their villages.

But Mr Robertson said the county council was listening to people's comments.

He said: "We hear everything people are saying. This was always going to be a difficult time, but we have to work to make the situation better for the long term.

"We are monitoring the situation very closely on a daily basis. I have personally driven through the site on a number of occasions to get the feel of how people are being affected.

"In terms of affected businesses, again we hear what is being said and there will soon be signs in appropriate places that make it abundantly clear that businesses are operating as normal, along with instructions on how to get to them. This is one of those situations in which no matter what we do there will be people who have legitimate observations or strong complaints."