Traders and shoppers are disappointed that the £3.2m project to repave Cornmarket Street in Oxford is about three weeks' behind schedule, after just three months' of work.

Contractors have encountered problems relaying intricate underground wiring, but project managers say they think they can catch up on lost time at the end of the summer when York stone pavements are being laid.

Traders said last night that they wanted to be kept better informed about delays as they face a second summer of disruption.

Last year, city and county councillors abandoned plans for a granite surface after the paving failed and cracks started to show. They decided to revert to an asphalt surface.

Work started again in February and part of the street has been boarded up ever since, although pavements are still open to shoppers.

Mark Radcliffe, assistant manager of WH Smith, said: "Traders will celebrate when Cornmarket is freed from the shackles of what is effectively a building site.

"Visitors come to Oxford expecting scenes from Inspector Morse -- then they stumble across Cornmarket."

Eddie Luck, the county council's assistant director of transport development, said: "We are still aiming to finish by the end of September.

Tell us what you think.