COMMUTERS battling rush-hour traffic yesterday morning found one former blackspot blissfully clear.

The Heyford Hill roundabout is now open to traffic after six months of work to turn it into a ‘hamburger’ junction.

Motorists faced long delays over the summer, but developers said the £2m project will cut journey times by up to 10 minutes.

The project was funded by Sainsbury’s to coincide with its store extension.

Manager Kevin Morton said: “We look forward to welcoming everyone to our improved Heyford Hill store tomorrow.

“We would also like to thank everyone for their patience while we have improved the roundabout, which we hope will benefit everyone who uses it in the future.”

Work started on the hamburger roundabout, which now features a lane through the middle, in April.

The idea was to mimic the roundabout changes at Green Road, Headington.

Oxfordshire County Council last week announced it was now looking at creating a third hamburger at the Kennington roundabout at the end of Abingdon Road.

Strategic manager John Disley said: “We are also looking at ways of improving capacity at other roundabouts on the ring road, including Kennington, and one option being considered is a hamburger design.”

Meanwhile, other roadworks around the city were causing headaches for commuters yesterday.

The busy Eynsham Road between Farmoor and Botley closed and will remain shut in both directions for two weeks.

Oxfordshire County Council is working to resurface the road from the Farmoor mini-roundabout to the A420 Cumnor bypass bridge.

Drivers are being diverted along the A40 and A34.

In Botley Road, part of the park-and-ride lane was being dug up by Thames Water, creating problems as traffic diverted on to the main road.

The work is being carried out to upgrade sewers and prevent future flooding in the area.

In Iffley Road, resurfacing work and temporary lights continued to cause delays, while the month-long closure of Old Road, Headington, caused more problems for commuters into the east of the city.

County council cabinet member for transport Rodney Rose said: “We always get complaints about potholes and then we get complaints when we close the roads, so we don’t know what to do.

“The Eynsham Road wasn’t going to go through the winter so I’m pleased it’s happening.

“Obviously, I am concerned for the people whose journeys are longer but they’d be much longer if we had to close these road because they were dangerous.”

Commuters faced misery yesterday morning as two accidents caused chaos.

A lorry jacknifed and spilled diesel across the A34 at 1.45am, shutting the road until 9am.

About 600 litres of fuel were spilled after the lorry crashed into the central reservation at the Bicester junction with the M40.

Traffic at 8.30am stretched back past Botley. The driver was not injured.

Drivers on the M40 also faced problems, after two lorries collided between junction four for High Wycombe and junction five for Stokenchurch.

The accident at 4am closed two lanes in both directions for much of the day. Traffic on the London-bound carriageway at 9am stretched back as far as Oxford while debris was cleared.

Both drivers were uninjured.

Police spokesman Sue Mahoney said: “It’s been a horrific morning for drivers.

“The M40 southbound was absolutely gridlocked and traffic stretched into the distance, with knock-on effects at all the other junctions.

“And on the A34, the fuel tank rupture meant the slip road on to the M40 also had to be closed. Even the clean-up trucks were getting caught up in all the traffic.”