The construction of a temporary bridge over the A34 will mean partial overnight closure of the road and the A40 beneath it.

The ongoing £44.4m scheme to replace Wolvercote Viaduct means traffic will be diverted on the evening of Saturday, November 8, and Sunday, November 9.

As part of the two-year project, which began in May, a temporary new bridge will be constructed alongside the 1960s viaduct, which carries the A34 over the A40 north of Oxford.

To allow workers to install the new beams for the temporary bridge safely, the roads will be closed between 10pm on the Saturday and 7am on the Sunday, with the A40 shut between its junction with the A44 and Cassington.

Drivers on the A34 will be diverted from Pear Tree to take the A420 at Botley to the B4044 to Eynsham and on to the A40 via the B4449 northbound.

Since May workers have built a temporary access ramp from a layby on the northbound A34 south of Pear Tree, completed a temporary A40 diversion and carried out work to minimise disruption to the local badger population.

Preparations for the rest of the work are also said to be well advanced. Sij Dhanju, senior project manager, said: “The project is on schedule. We are carrying out this work overnight and at the weekend when traffic volumes are at their lowest.”

Cormac O’Hara, the manager of the Barcelo Oxford Hotel at Wolvercote Roundabout, said: “So far the work hasn’t affected us at all. I’m sure things may change as the project progresses but it has been fine so far.”