A crack opened up in the surface of a major commuter road near Oxford which delayed motorists for hours on Friday. 

One lane of the A34 southbound between Kidlington and the A44 was closed just before 7am on Friday morning. 

National Highways sent a specialist team and the lane was coned off throughout the day. 

Preparations began to remove the lane closure at around 4.30pm as National Highways warned motorists to allow extra time. 

There was around three miles of congestion by this time as traffic continued to build. 

National Highways has been contacted for further information and comment by the Oxford Mail.

It proved to be a morning of carnage on the busy A34 route as a crash also took place near Weston-on-the-Green.

There were delays of around 25 minutes at around 9am in the southbound carriageway between the M40 Junction 9 at Bicester and the Kidlington junction.

The average speed was 10mph at this time. 

And a further emergency gas leak in Wolvercote also led to the closure of the Wolvercote Bridge on Godstow Road on Friday morning. 

The road was closed both ways from Wolvercote Green to Elmthorpe Road as a result. 

Bus services were affected by this closure with the Oxford Bus Company apologising for any inconvenience caused. 

The  ST2 bus service was unable to serve Upper Wolvercote on any journeys and was diverted onto the A34 between Wytham, Village Hall and the first turn on Woodstock Road.

The bridge was reopened by 10.30am.