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.