AN Oxfordshire MP has pushed the Minister for Roads to take action in improving the A34 Lodge Hill Interchange in Abingdon.

Layla Moran, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, met with Minister for Roads, Richard Holden, to press him for action on the long-awaited Lodge Hill junction in North Abingdon.

Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, recently submitted plans for an improvement scheme in the area including south-facing slips from the A4183 Oxford Road to the A34.

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Other plans include a new grade separated dumbbell junction, an off-slip to allow northbound traffic to exit the A34 and an on-slip to allow southbound traffic to enter the A34, sustainable drainage measures, revised access, balancing ponds, lighting columns, planting/landscaping, provision of shared footway and cycleway, vehicle restraint system, bus layby extension, fencing, signalised and unsignalised crossing for active travel users and associated infrastructure works.

It’s hoped that the application will be considered by the planning committee in February 2023.

Ms Moran believes that Lodge Hill is a ‘vital project’ that local residents have been waiting on for several years now.

She has been campaigning for it for over a decade, speaking in debates and raising with Ministers.

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Meanwhile, local Liberal Democrat councillors have been campaigning for even longer, pressing for the completion of the junction for over 30 years.

Layla is now focused on ensuring the County Council receives the money that was promised by the government to deliver the project.

In the meeting, Ms Moran explained to Mr Holden the ‘strategic importance’ of the junction for traffic reduction and delivering new homes, and urged him to intervene to ensure the final bit of funding is secured. 

Speaking after the meeting, she said: “I am determined that Lodge Hill will not be the latest on the list of this Conservative government’s broken promises. I will continue to urge the government and the County Council to work together to secure the funding.

“This scheme is now shovel ready and when the government first backed the project in 2017 we were assured it was fully-funded. Local residents were promised infrastructure before housing, and residents in North Abingdon will see the houses are well under construction.

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“I am delighted that Liberal Democrats have taken this project further than it has ever been before, and that we have now included vital active travel elements to improve the junction for cyclists and pedestrians.

“I was glad to be able to raise this vital infrastructure project with the Roads Minister today, and I will not stop putting pressure on the government until the first shovel hits the ground.”

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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