MOTORISTS were greeted by huge tailbacks on the Botley Road after returning to work following the bank holiday.

The eastbound traffic was at a near-standstill all day yesterday with some drivers calling the situation “appalling”.

The morning and evening rush hours were the worst affected, with journey times of up to an hour along the mile-and-a-half stretch of road.

The delays were the result of a new phase of roadworks that began in Frideswide Square yesterday morning.

Oxfordshire County Council closed Hythe Bridge Street, next to the Royal Oxford Hotel, for six weeks as part of its £5.8m redevelopment of the square.

The closure meant all traffic coming into the city via Botley Road was bottlenecked through Park End Street.

Botley Road resident Carolyn Sabouni spent 45 minutes trying to get back from Aldi, off Botley Road, to her home next to Oxford railway station at about 1pm.

The 61-year-old, who uses the road daily, said: “The traffic is dreadful. Usually it’s bad but it seems to be worse now. They need to make drivers aware of this issue earlier.”

The closed road contributed to a traffic jam which, at its peak, tailed back as far as Cumnor with drivers affected along the A420 southbound towards the Botley Interchange.

Videogame developer Jason Kingsley spent about 50 minutes sitting in traffic from about 10.15am all the way from the Botley Interchange to Osney Mead.

He said: “It’s the worst I’ve seen the traffic, unless there’s been an accident.

“This is also the light period as it’s half-term. If this continues, I will genuinely have to consider working from home which will impact on my business.

“If Frideswide Square is such an issue, why don’t they block it off and force people to get into Oxford through other routes?”

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Paul Smith said: “The first few days of any changes to roadworks are always the worst as drivers get used to new layouts and that is why we publicise them in advance.”

He said the council had publicised the closure with signs, notices in the local newspaper and slots on the radio.

The jam affected services run by Oxford Bus Company, which reported its Seacourt Park and Ride route was experiencing up to 40 minute delays.

Spokesman Phil Ashworth said: “There have been widespread delays in the area, even though the start of the work was timed to coincide with half-term.

“We have identified a number of issues which we are discussing with the county council but we would encourage people to use the Park and Ride network where possible.”

Stagecoach said its X30 service was delayed by 50 minutes.

As well as issues on Botley Road, traffic was also queuing up St Giles, Beaumont Street and Worcester Street.