Abingdon Bridge: Traffic lights to return for final time

Cllr Nathan Lay said the signals – which will be installed from March 27 to April 6 – will mark “the end of the saga” which has lasted over a year-and-a-half.

The 15th century bridge, which carries the A415 across the River Thames, previously had lights installed from May 2021 to December 2022.

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The lights were in place while Oxfordshire County Council repaired stonework that had become dislodged to the eastern side of the north arch of the bridge, reducing its strength.

A shortage of engineering staff and the need to wait for statutory approvals meant that repair works took longer than expected.

The signals caused traffic delays and congestion on surrounding roads and left residents frustrated with the delays.

The lights were previously in place at Abingdon Bridge from May 2021 to December 2022 (Image: Public)

It was also revealed that the prolonged use of the signals cost the county council £86,980.76 from May 2021 to December 2022.

This amounted to £379.26 per week for the equipment and up to £1,381.70 for the attendance of operatives.

The lights were finally removed in December 2022 when enough repairs had been carried out that the bridge would support two-way traffic.

A second phase of repairs were scheduled for the spring when the water level dropped low enough to continue the work.

It was announced today that this new phase would run for more than a month from March 20 to April 26.

While most of this work will not affect traffic – as it will be undertaken from specialist scaffold from beneath the bridge – the lights will return for nine days from March 27.

This is because workmen plan to expose the sewer pipe that runs over the arch of the bridge to confirm that it will not be drilled into while repairing the stonework.

Cllr Lay, who represents Abingdon North on the county council, said advance notice would be given and urged motorists to plan their journeys in advance.

He said: “It’s taken longer than we would have liked, acknowledging the various issues that have come up.

“We know the works have been disruptive for people commuting to Culham and the schools in that direction.

“As councillors, we have worked hard to ensure this is finally fixed for good this spring and we have worked hard to make sure that the temporary lights should only return for a nine-day period.

“Hopefully only one week of school is affected and this the end of the saga.”