Oxfordshire County Council intends to commence works in the central reserve and verges of Kennington Railway Bridge on the A423 Oxford Southern Ring Road at Kennington on the night of 20th July 2018. The works will primarily affect the dual carriageway between the Kennington Roundabout and the Hinksey Hill Roundabout at the A34. The works will last approximately 12 weeks, with the majority of the works being carried out at night to minimise traffic disruption. This maintenance work follows on from that carried out to the carriageways in 2014, and last month by Thames Water to fix a leak in their main in the central reserve. Temporary safety barriers will be erected along the edges of the carriageway to protect motorists, which will require the traffic lanes to be narrowed. When works are taking place the carriageway will be further narrowed down to a single lane in each direction. A temporary 30 mph speed restriction will be put in place for safety.
Overnight Road Closures
At least three overnight road closures will be required, one for the erection of the safety barriers, one to relocate them from the verges to the central reserve and a third to remove them together with the narrow lane road markings. The first closure will occur on the night of 20th July from 8pm to 5 am the following morning. The second and third overnight closures are anticipated to commence on 19th August and 29th September. These dates are subject to change depending on the progress of the work. Advance warning of the road closures will be signed from two weeks prior to the closures. Motorists are advised to use alternative routes, i.e. the Oxford Ring road and A34 in the opposite direction, during these closures. A local diversion route will also be available and signed from Kennington Roundabout via, Abingdon Road, Old Abingdon Road, Kennington Road and the slip road back onto the A423 prior to Hinksey Hill Roundabout, and in the opposite direction the slip road off the A423 onto Old Abingdon Road, Abingdon Road and back to Kennington Roundabout. Significant traffic delays are anticipated on this local diversion route particularly between 8pm to midnight, so it is advised that the alternative route via the Oxford Ring Road and A34 is utilised where possible.
A fourth short duration road closure is proposed around 12th October for installation of a bridge deck joint. further details will be provided on signage nearer the time.
The construction works are intended to be carried out mainly at night, 7 days per week, but no lane closures will be in place from 2nd to 5th August when high traffic volumes are anticipated due to the Countyfile Live event at Blenheim Palace.
Weekend Lane Closures
In addition to the normal night time working there will be two weekend long lane closures, for safety critical operations. These are currently planned from Friday 10th August at 8pm to Monday the 13th August at 5am and from Friday 7th September at 8pm to Monday 10th September at 5am. These dates are subject to change depending on progress of the works. These lane closures including day times are likely to cause significant traffic disruption and motorists are advised to use alternative routes, i.e. the Oxford ring road and A34 in the opposite direction.
We thank you in advance for your patience and co-operation during these essential bridgeworks. If you require any further information, please contact my representative at the above address or by Telephone No. 07823 353754, or by e-mail . Updates and further information may be found at the County Councils website https://www2.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/a423-oxfordsouthern-ring-road-kennington-railway-bridge-maintenance-works .
