Villagers have been told to keep their fingers crossed that "intelligent" traffic lights will eventually work and stop them being swamped by rat-run commuters.

Residents of Wendlebury, south of Bicester, saw traffic through their village increase dramatically after the Highways Agency installed lights at the roundabout at Junction 9 of the M40 two weeks ago.

The lights have created long tailbacks into Bicester and an emergency closure was imposed on the Wendlebury exit off the A41 on May 17 to prevent drivers avoiding the queues by taking a short-cut through Wendlebury. Andrew Fulljames, the district councillor for Wendlebury, said: "It's outrageous that the traffic is going through a village that doesn't have speed limits."

The road reopened on Thursday, and Oxfordshire County Council is hoping the hi-tech lights at the M40/A41 junction are adjusting to the traffic situation.

Colin Carritt, a county council highway engineer, said: "They are intelligent traffic lights. They learn the level of traffic and length of queues from the previous day and adjust their phasing to get the optimum balance.

"We just have to keep our fingers crossed that they'll work."

The delays have lengthened journey times between Bicester and Oxford for drivers and bus passengers considerably.

Stagecoach marketing manager David Whitley said: "Hundreds of people have switched to public transport for the journey from Bicester to Oxford based on its convenience and speed and we are very concerned that some will now be reassessing their decision."

Dr Neil Swindells, 49, of Corncrake Way, Bicester, who commutes to Oxford every day, said: "A colleague of mine needed 55 minutes to get from Bicester to Oxford, ten miles away. The people who design traffic junctions don't have to live with the consequences and they should get it right the first time."