A roundabout on Oxford's eastern bypass reopened on time yesterday morning following resurfacing work.

The Littlemore/Rose Hill roundabout was closed to traffic from 8pm on Friday until 6am on Monday while the work was carried out using two shifts of surfacing crews.

Oxfordshire County Council said the 24/7 operation was designed to minimise disruption and accomplish the task more cost-effectively.

READ MORE: Oxford traffic warden assaulted after Mercedes ticket issued

The alternative approach would have seen the work taking place over 15 separate nights of closures.

Two shifts of surfacing crews meant work was carried out for 24 hours (Image: OCC)

This would have meant more disruption to residents and businesses, increasing the cost, and leading to a potentially poorer standard of work due to more opportunities for water to enter the road surface, the council said.

The closure coincided with Oxford United's pre-season friendly against Italian side Palermo at the nearby Kassam Stadium on Saturday, leading to 60-minute delays for buses on diversion routes.

The county council said its contractor Milestone Infrastructure was able to complete other work during the closure.

This included laying high friction surfacing at Heyford Hill roundabout, vehicle restraint barrier work, drainage cleansing and investigation work.

The work also included replacing defective kerbing, footway work and installing new traffic sensor loops.

The county council website states the authority has a planned programme of works that are carried out every year to fix issues on the highway network.