MOTORISTS who feel like they have spent a lifetime sitting in traffic jams near roadworks at Oxford's Headington Roundabout will be relieved to hear the end is in sight.

The roadworks, which began in April and have caused problems ever since, are nearing their final phase and are due to be finished on time before Christmas.

But to meet the Christmas deadline, Oxfordshire Highways will be closing some roads overnight in November as the final phase of work begins. Oxfordshire County Council said work to start surfacing the roundabout on the A40 - dubbed the hamburger roundabout because it will have a road running through the middle of it - is one of the "last big jobs" to be completed in the scheme.

Councillor David Robertson, the county council's cabinet member for transport, thanked motorists for their patience, saying: "People have been extremely patient and we are very grateful to them for that.

"It has been a difficult time for all of us but I believe that people have accepted the 'no pain, no gain' message we have been sending out."

Oxfordshire Highways is due to carry out overnight work from November 7 to November 28 to cause minimal disruption to daytime traffic and help the scheme finish on time in December.

Mr Robertson added: "Obviously when the new arrangement comes into place in December there will be a bedding-in period, with drivers getting used to the set-up and our engineers acting on any problems.

"However, before we get there we have this final difficult phase of work to get through.

"I look forward, along with everyone else, to the hamburger roundabout becoming a reality."

The roadworks have caused gridlock on the A40 since they began six months ago.

Earlier this month, over 100 bus passengers were stuck in Barton for more than an hour as traffic leading up to the roadwork-hit roundabout ground to a halt.

Seven buses were caught in traffic between Barton estate and Bayswater Road in rush hour.

And in August, tailbacks from the roundabout made the A40 one of the top 10 places in the UK to avoid over the Bank Holiday weekend.

ROADWORKS TIMETABLE

  • From Tuesday November 7 to Monday November 13 (excluding Saturday and Sunday nights) the A40 northern bypass will be closed from 9pm to 6am.
  • From Tuesday November 14 to Thursday November 16, the A4142 Eastern bypass will be closed northbound 7.30pm until 6am. The southbound carriageway will be open from the A40 East only from 7.30pm to 6am.

All works are weather dependent.