TRAFFIC misery that has beseiged the city looks set to continue until after Christmas with businesses warning roadworks will cripple county trade.

With projects hitting many major entry points into the city, workers have faced extreme commutes, while buses and delivery drivers have got stuck and now retailers, hoteliers and restaurants are being hit. One Oxford traders’ group is claiming thousands of pounds have been lost and that congestion could have a severe impact on Christmas shoppers and trade in the city.

Drivers faced yet another day of traffic woe yesterday. Motorists contacted the Oxford Mail throughout the morning about their journey.

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One driver said Headington’s Green Road roundabout was “manic” while another said it was taking an hour and a half to get from Boars Hill to Headington.

It comes as Oxfordshire County Council said work at Kennington roundabout would cost another £600,000 on top of a previous increase of £1.5m.

There were major delays yesterday along the A420 London Road, Headington, due to resurfacing and widening work, combined with work to build a new junction at Worcester Street and George Street in the city centre, the contraflow between Kennington roundabout and Hinksey Hill and work at The Plain roundabout.

Graham Jones, a spokesman for the Oxford High Street Business Association, and retail campaign group Rox (Rescue Oxford), said too many major road schemes were being carried out at once.

He said: “There is too much going on at once and it is affecting businesses. It must be costing them thousands of pounds.

“Restaurants, hotels, and retailers in the centre of Oxford and Summertown are being affected, together with businesses across the city.

“Delivery drivers are getting stuck in traffic on the major routes around the city including the A34, the A40 between Witney and Oxford and on the A420.

“I will be contacting Ian Hudspeth and David Nimmo Smith to look again at their plans running into Christmas because it will have a knock-on effect on people coming into Oxford for Christmas shopping. There are some serious issues to answer.”

The county’s bus services again reported severe delays on many of their services and Phil Ashworth, spokesman for Oxford Bus Company said it was talking to the county council about what can be done to improve traffic flow.

ROADWORKS TAKING PLACE NOW

  • Kennington Roundabout/Hinksey Hill – Until January 9, 2015
  • Frideswide Square – Work on Becket Street, Osney Lane, and the Worcester Street/George Street junction until December 8. Main work on square due to start in February 2015 and finish by December.
  • London Road, Headington – Widening until May 2015
  • The Plain – Cycling and pedestrian improvements until April 6, 2015

Rob Lindley, the managing director of Harley Davidson Europe, Middle East and Africa which is based in Garsington Road, said the constant traffic is putting people off doing business in Oxford.

He said: “We have had people who have come for an interview and come to Oxford and turned it down because they look at the commute that’s involved. It is very demotivating for our staff.

“I look at Kennington roundabout every day when I go past it and the amount of work they still have to do looks significant. If they don’t complete it by the end of November you have the other issue of it affecting Christmas shopping traffic.”

Oxfordshire County Council is having to increase its budget for the work at Kennington roundabout by more than a third – but it has promised that the roadworks will not over-run.

The latest overspend is down to a four-week delay by electricity company SSE in disconnecting cables found underneath the roundabout.

Earlier this year the Oxford Mail revealed that the project would go £1.5m overbudget because of delays relating to the water mains diversion work and having to move protected orchids. The latest find has meant an extra £600,000 of work.

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