The good news is that residents living near the A34 north of Oxford will soon be spared the horrific traffic din they have suffered for 17 years.

By early next year, the noisy concrete section will have been removed and replaced by a quieter surface.

But as often happens, good news is accompanied by bad news.

This is that residents will have to put up with months of drilling and pounding which the Highways Agency admits will be noisy and disruptive.

Since much of the work will be done at night, next autumn and winter look certain to test the patience for the most even-tempered folk.

There is never a good time, of course, to carry out such a major scheme, and it will, after all, be worth it in the end.

Anyone who has driven along this road will know how difficult it is even to hear the car radio.

Just imagine the racket residents have had to put up with, on one of the country's busiest routes, for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year after year.

Like everyone else, people living along the road deserve a good night's sleep -- and fingers crossed, by January next year, they should be getting it.