National Route 5 of the National Cycle Network runs all the way from Reading to Holyhead – and right through Abingdon. But here in town it has never quite lived up to the standard you’d expect of a national route. The paths in and out of Abingdon have been resurfaced in recent years, but there’s still room for improvement between St Helen’s Church and the Abbey Gateway. At the moment, cyclists have to take a long detour and then dismount – so many instead risk heading the wrong way up East St Helen Street.

Oxfordshire County Council has now published plans to improve things. The aim is to make cycling and walking through the town centre safer, with a new contraflow on East St Helen Street to legitimise what some cyclists already do.

The scheme also looks to sort out the junction at the top of East St Helen Street, improving it for people on foot, on bikes, or using mobility scooters. An outline was first put forward by local cycling enthusiasts, then refined by transport specialists – and now it’s open for wider comment through a public consultation. The junction plans include additional zebra crossings and the use of an enlarged island in the middle.

More crossings do mean more time when traffic has to stop, slowing traffic coming up Bridge Street or along Stert Street, where there are already other pedestrian lights.

The funding is already secured: a £1.47 million government grant from the Active Travel Fund will cover design and construction.

The public consultation runs from 30 September to 28 October 2025, with drop-in events at the Guildhall on:
Saturday 11 October, 10am–3pm
Tuesday 14 October, 4pm–7pm

A consultation report is expected in December. Final designs should follow in spring 2026, with construction due to start that spring and finish by summer 2026.

Details and the online consultation can be found at: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/eaststhelenstreet

Resurfacing work is taking place on Drayton Road this week, with Oxfordshire County Council closing the road between Saxton Road and Preston Road from 22–29 September, 8 pm to 6 am each night.

On the night of 23 September, crews were planing off and resurfacing the stretch between Morland Gardens and Preston Road. The road planers with a fleet of muckaway lorries worked in sequence to remove the old surface and then fresh tarmac was laid and compacted by rollers.

During the closure, buses and other traffic have been finding alternative routes. I saw the X2 trying to make its way along Saxton Road to get round the closure.

The Drayton Road is the main route into Abingdon from the south and is cracked along this section.

Work has been underway for three weeks on the Lodge Hill A34 interchange near Abingdon.

Two of the existing splitter islands have been removed to give construction vehicles easier access, and traffic cones now mark where the islands once stood. The roundabout construction is scheduled next.

Across the site, machinery, yellow safety barriers and teams in hi-vis overalls are busy preparing the ground.

Much of the recent activity has focused on earthmoving with the excavation of a terraced channel through the red soil near the A4183 Oxford Road.

This major project will add south-facing slip roads onto the A34, with two new roundabouts linking the slip roads to the A4183 Oxford Road. It is designed to improve access between Abingdon and the A34 and reduce congestion on the town’s roads as new housing develops to the north.

You can find more details on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

The main construction work on the long-awaited A34 Lodge Hill interchange started today (Wednesday 3rd September).

During the day, surveyors could been on site with their theodolites, aimed at the splitter island at the A34 southbound off-slip junction. This island will be the first thing to go, creating more space for construction vehicles to move in and out.

Traffic management is already in place. On the A34, lanes have been narrowed and drivers are being asked to slow down near the works to keep everyone safe. Overnight temporary traffic lights are also running between 9 pm and 5 am on the A4183 and the A34 southbound off-slip while the islands are removed.

Cllr Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “We have all campaigned for this for so long and it is wonderful news that construction has begun.”

The project, being delivered by Balfour Beatty with support from Homes England, is expected to finish by the end of 2026. When complete, it should reduce through-traffic in Abingdon. A condition for the new homes being built to the north of Abingdon was that the Lodge Hill interchange improvements were funded and built.

You can find more details about the A34 Lodge Hill scheme and traffic management plans on Oxfordshire County Council’s website: