QUEUES of commuters into Oxford might be reduced by a £102m funding deal which has just been signed.

In November last year, Oxfordshire County Council discovered its bid for £102m of Government cash to widen the A40 between Eynsham and Witney was successful.

Now, the county council’s cabinet, its most senior councillors, have agreed with the Government that the work will be complete by the end of March 2024.

The bid for cash from the Housing Infrastructure Fund also includes plans for a dedicated westbound bus lane out of Oxford along the A40, and improvements to a bridge on the road as it passes over Duke’s Cut, a part of the canal north of the city.

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A report to the cabinet said there was a ‘a high level of dependency on the A40 corridor to access a growing job market in Oxford’.

It added that 7,500 commuters who used the road to get from West Oxfordshire into the city regularly would have a smoother trip as a result of transforming the road into a dual carriageway where it runs between Witney and Eynsham.

Drivers using the A40 during rush hour contribute to the regular long tailbacks of traffic at Wolvercote Roundabout and on Botley Road.

Oxford Mail:

A file photo of traffic on the A40 approaching Cutteslowe Roundabout. Picture: Damian Halliwell

The new bus lane, which would link to a proposed Park and Ride near Eynsham, could also reduce the amount of traffic queueing on the approach to Oxford if more people use buses instead of cars, according to the report.

However there were concerns among some cabinet members about whether all the construction work on the A40 could be finished by April 2024.

Judith Heathcoat, the council’s deputy leader asked council staff whether a second peak in the coronavirus pandemic could happen and cause a delay to the works timetable.

Council officer Sue Halliwell said: “We are going to be able to ensure we can continue to deliver, despite the impact of any possible peak going into this winter period.”

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The council’s cabinet member for transport, Yvonne Constance, said the scheme was a ‘very important bit of infrastructure’ for the county.

Though the money is ringfenced for making improvements to the A40, its aim is to ‘unlock’ housing in West Oxfordshire.

If the new roads did not go ahead, then large new housing estates planned in the district could be turned down on the grounds that there is not enough room on the roads for the extra cars.

The scheme promises to ‘unlock’ 4,813 new homes in West Oxfordshire, including 2,222 'affordable' homes to be run by the district council or housing associations.

A total of 10,000 other homes which could be built in the area through the West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2031 would also have a more certain future because of the road improvements.

One of the sites directly affected by the funding is the planned new Eynsham Garden Village, which was officially named Salt Cross yesterday by West Oxfordshire District Council.

Oxford Mail:

The site of a proposed garden village near Eynsham. Picture: WODC

Dualling the A40 between Witney and Eynsham would also ‘provide more capacity for local trips’ according to the council report.

There are also plans few new cycle paths and footpaths linking Witney, Eynsham and new housing estates in West Oxfordshire.

The westbound bus lane which is being paid for with some of the cash would complement an eastbound bus lane, which is being paid for in a separate scheme.

This other scheme, called Science Transit, is funded by £36.2m from the Department for Transport and includes funding for the proposed new Park and Ride near Eynsham.

As the cabinet met on Tuesday, it also finalised plans for a larger scheme ‘unlock’ homes in Didcot, also funded by a bid for transport cash (see page 6).