A FOURTH ‘hamburger’ roundabout will be created in the county as part of changes to two North Oxford junctions revealed by transport officials.

The £9m plans for Wolvercote and Cutteslowe roundabouts have been put forward by Oxfordshire County Council, clearing the way for the Northern Gateway business park scheme.

Cutteslowe roundabout is set to become a hamburger junction, controlled by traffic lights.

Hamburger junctions feature roads through their centre. Once completed, along with other conversion schemes in the city such as in Kennington, Heyford Hill and Green Road, it would be the fourth of its kind in Oxford.

The county council also announced its intention to install traffic lights at Wolvercote roundabout, widen the A40 and A44 approaches and close the exit to Five Mile Drive.

Both roundabouts will gain cyclist and pedestrian crossings.

The council is also proposing to build a new link road between the A40 and the A44 west of the Wolvercote roundabout – in a different scheme – but has not yet decided on the exact location.

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price said: “The county council is moving extremely well on the highways front and we are making good progress and bringing together the required landowners.

“This will help with problems of congestion, but there is obviously a long way to go.”

David Nimmo Smith, county council cabinet member for transport, said: “These proposals aim to reduce journey times through the two junctions, while avoiding negative impacts on the A34. [We also hope it will] improve safety for all road users, but particularly pedestrians and cyclists.”

County councillor for Wolvercote and Summertown Jean Fooks said residents would be pleased Godstow Road would not close.

She said: “These plans look as though they will give great advantages to pedestrians and cyclists.

“And although some will be disappointed that Five Mile Drive is to be closed off, it will at least stop it being used as a rat-run.”

The scheme is part of the City Deal signed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in February.

It was agreed the business park would not go ahead before significant steps were taken to tackle congestion in the area.

Oxford Bus Users spokesman Hugh Jaeger cautiously welcomed the plans.

He said: “It sounds like they are thinking about the right solutions here, because we know with the A40 the problem is not the number of lanes but the bottleneck junctions.”

A county council spokesman said the current plan, if approved, would see work start in the summer of 2015 and last six or seven months.

The county council will consult residents at a series of presentations, starting today in The White Hart Pub, Godstow Road, Wolvercote, from 2pm to 8pm.

The next is in St Peter’s Church hall, Godstow Road, Wolvercote, on Saturday from 10am to 3pm, with a third in Cutteslowe Community Centre, in Wren Road, from 2pm to 8pm next Thursday.

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