WORK is progressing well on a £5.8m revamp at Frideswide Square.

The scheme started in February and is due to be completed in December.

Thousands of drivers head through the junction at the end of Botley Road every day and the square includes the entrance to the railway station.

Last week major traffic delays on Botley Road heading into the city were blamed on “sheer weight of traffic” by a county council spokesman.

Highways engineers have come up with a scheme to help traffic flow more freely, by introducing three roundabouts, with traffic heading along a central boulevard, which is now being cleared.

A key element of the redesign will be new roundabouts.

There will be one large roundabout outside the station, with two mini-roundabouts outside the Royal Oxford Hotel.

When the work is finished all the existing traffic lights will be removed.

Amanda Suliman-Bell, who runs the Rainbow and Spoon boutique in Park End Street, said: “Progress is definitely being made but the closure of Hythe Bridge Street has meant traffic building at the top of Park End Street.”

The closure of the Hythe Bride Street/Park End Street junction, next to the Royal Oxford Hotel, will remain in place until mid-July while granite kerbs are extended.

Phase one of the scheme is “well advanced” and work has now started outside the Said Business School.