Sir – While the traffic obstruction in the North Oxford area is indeed horrendous, the associated frustration has produced a series of simplistic suggestions for speeding up the traffic flow.

All apparently stem from the assumption that highways engineers are unable to comprehend obvious solutions. The opposite is in fact the case.

Carrying out major works on an already overloaded highway with no obvious alternative routes available is a complex task.

Two of the touted solutions illustrate the problem. Firstly there is the ‘one at a time school’. Here it is argued that the obstruction would be less if the two roundabouts were improved one after the other rather than at the same time.

The time to complete the improvement of a junction would not however be significantly reduced: the rate at which work on one task can be completed is largely independent of the existence of the other. Would the marginal improvement in traffic flow be justified by a major increase in the overall timescale?

Then there is the alternative suggestion from the Rev Toddy Hoare, who advocates the work be carried out 24/7. Whilst it is certainly true that this would significantly reduce the timescale, the additional misery inflicted on local residents would be intolerable.

There seems little doubt that the traffic misery has been maximised by the decision to delay the work until the eleventh hour. This delay is not the responsibility of the highways engineers; it is unfair and unreasonable to imply that this failure by others can be overcome using simplistic solutions. The scheme’s engineers are doing their best to overcome a near intractable problem.

Should we not, at the very least, acknowledge that fact?

P Hawtin (Dr)
Cumnor