The road to St Helen’s Wharf is closed again, and this time, there’s a cage surrounding the work area. Unlike the emergency gas repair last week this closure has come with prior notice. Thames Water expect to be finished by 14th March.

Trade appeared slower than usual at the Monday Market, with some of the stall holders packing up early. It’s not clear whether this was due to the road closure or the damp weather.

Here’s a peaceful St Helen’s Wharf – free of traffic.

As of March 5th 2025, St Helen’s Wharf in Abingdon is closed to vehicles due to essential gas network maintenance conducted by SGN (Scotia Gas Networks). The road closure commenced on the evening of March 4th. The work order XW060W121248377-01118-01 on https://one.network/ says it is scheduled between March 5th at 18:44 and until March 13 at 23:59. There is no indication how long the work will actually last.

Signs direct foot traffic through St Helen’s Churchyard.

There was also an upcoming road closure planned by Thames Water for St Helen’s Wharf. The Town Council web site https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/services/transport-and-parking/road-closure confirms this. It says Temporary Road Closure – St Helen’s Wharf – for Morrison Water Services – from 10 March 2025 up to and including 14 March 2025. This is a 24 hour road closure.

Potholes are a universal problem, from Audlett Drive in Abingdon to Ziwani in Zanzibar.

The road surface of Audlett Drive near the junction with Barton Lane has many cracks developing.

One pothole beside a drain a little way down from the junction is becoming a danger. The pothole was reported to Oxfordshire County Council on FixMyStreet on 3rd February. The anonymous reporter said, ‘The pothole has been here for months and is getting bigger and deeper.’

Red paint markings were added after an inspection took place by 17th February. One driver told me they hit the pothole on Friday 21st February, and now have a £260 repair bill for a broken suspension spring. Other drivers have probably also suffered.

So drive carefully or you too might hear that sickening thud.

It has been quiet today in the Back Street (West St Helen Street), with none of the usual buzz of traffic. A Road Closed sign by the iron bridge has diverted most vehicles elsewhere.

The water leak started on Thursday, worsening through Friday and Saturday. Today, a Thames Water van and a lorry-mounted drill arrived to dig a hole.

I took this picture when work paused temporarily when a tool — possibly an angle grinder — broke and needed replacing. The hole bubbled with water, and there was a stream – a metre wide – running down the road. The team resumed work shortly afterwards. They turned off the water at a stopcock, pumped out the water, and clamped the pipe.