PLANS to divert traffic around Headington will come into force in the next few weeks while London Road is resurfaced and upgraded.

Oxfordshire County Council will spend £1.3m over an 11-week period lengthening the bus lane to improve traffic flow and relaying the street’s potholed and patched surface.

A series of traffic orders come into force today but work will not begin until signs are in place. The county council refused to give an exact date for when roadworks would start.

The resurfacing work will mean closing off access to roads in Headington and reducing the speed limit along the A40.

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Risinghurst and Sandhill Parish Council chairman Barbara Naylor said she was concerned about plans to close Collinwood Road and the subway under the Green Road roundabout.

She said: “That leaves us with just one entrance into Risinghurst. It will be a nightmare at Kiln Lane and we will be stuck here. It is dreadful, especially for the shops here.

“These things are on paper in their council offices and they don’t realise the impact it has on everybody else.”

Traffic along London Road is already congested during the morning rush hour and roadworks in the area look set to make the problem worse.

County councillor for Headington Roz Smith said: “I was assured that there would be a letterdrop to people on London Road. But as of this morning they have not received anything from the county council and that is worrying.”

The bus lane will be extended from the Green Road roundabout to Wharton Road opposite Bury Knowle Park.

Speed limits along the A40 leading up to the Thornhill park and ride will be lowered from 70mph to 50mph.

The diversions will come into force when the work starts.

County council spokesman Dominic Llewellyn-Jones said: “The date that the order comes in to force is not necessarily the date that work will start but the order has to be in place before work can start. Traffic measures won’t be introduced until the work begins.”

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