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.

Over the last couple of days, traffic congestion has been seen on Oxford Road, Radley Road, and The Vineyard in Abingdon. The bus stop at Our Lady’s Abingdon is also temporarily suspended. While one.network is typically a reliable source for roadworks information, none of these roads are listed. The delays are likely due to ongoing SGN (gas) mains work in The Holt, as the four way traffic lights also includes the Holt. In which case the works in the Holt are scheduled from January 27th at 11:00 AM to February 7th at 11:59 PM.

The new play park and multi-use games area at Kings Gate have opened and are proving popular. This photo was taken on a school-day morning, during quieter hours.

Contractors are completing the final section of the cycle and pedestrian path over the River Stert, which will connect Aldi, the Kings Gate estate, Tilsley Park, and the Abbey Fields development.

On the roads, work has yet to resume on the Oxford Road roundabout. However, preliminary work on the long-awaited south-facing slip roads for the A34 at Lodge Hill is set to begin. According to a BBC report, a site compound will be built off the Oxford Road from 10th February, with vegetation and trees being cleared. Oxfordshire County Council estimates that the main interchange works will be completed by summer 2026.

For those seeking more details, a public information event will be held at Long Furlong Community Centre on 21st March, from 14:00 to 18:00.

In a smaller project, Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council is planning to replace the town entry signs. They need moving beyond the new houses, and some of the existing signs have not weathered well. (It’s still only one hour of free parking in the town centre. The ‘1’ covering the ‘2’ must have peeled off.)