The Oxford Ring Road circles the city of Oxford, England. It is a dual carriagewayring road for most of its length apart from a short section between Woodstock Road and Banbury Road in the north of the city. The severe restrictions on traffic in Oxford city centre mean that it is the only practical way for long-distance traffic to get past Oxford, especially as there are few road bridges over the rivers Isis and Cherwell. Five Park and Rides are close to the ring road.
The western section (about 6 miles (10 km); "Southern and Western By-pass roads") is part of the A34.
To the north, the connection to complete the ring (under 1 mile (1.6 km) in total) includes a short section of the A40 ("Sunderland Avenue"; this is the only part that is not a dual carriageway) and a short section of the A44 ("Woodstock Road").
The north-eastern section (about 4 miles (6 km);"Elsfield Way; Northern By-pass Road; North Way") is part of the A40.
The south-eastern section (about 4 miles (6 km); "Eastern By-pass Road") is the A4142.
The southern section (about 1 mile (1.6 km); part of "Southern By-pass Road") is designated as the A423, something of an anomaly since the continuation of the A423 southwards was renumbered as the A4074, and the continuation northwards as far as Banbury as the A4260, when the M40 motorway was opened.
Historyedit
The north-eastern section, from Headington to Banbury Road, is the oldest part of the Oxford Ring Road. It was built in the mid-1930s and is part of the A40.
In 1938 the southern part of the western section was opened from the bottom of Hinksey Hill to Botley. The road was known as the "road to nowhere" and little used at that time. In 1962 it was extended north by a new bridge over the River Thames to Wolvercote, and the whole western section then became part of the A34. It was dualled in 1973.
The south-eastern section between Headington and Rose Hill was opened in 1959. The southern section between Hinksey Hill and Heyford Hill, including the new Isis Bridge over the River Thames, was opened in 1965. The ring road was completed when the short section between Rose Hill and Heyford Hill was opened in 1966.
The ring road has suffered major problems in recent years as housing developments are built next to the ring road leading to more traffic light intersections and roadworks. The latest traffic intersection on the Barton Park development, which opened in 2017, brings the total number of traffic light intersections on the ring road to 22.[1][2][3][4]
Futureedit
In 2023, Oxfordshire County Council plans to rebuild the Kennington Bridge due to degradation of the bridge deck bearings, which due to the bridge design, cannot easily be replaced. The rebuilding process involves several utility diversions and also building over a major railway line and two Thames tributaries[5]
oxford, ring, road, circles, city, oxford, england, dual, carriageway, ring, road, most, length, apart, from, short, section, between, woodstock, road, banbury, road, north, city, severe, restrictions, traffic, oxford, city, centre, mean, that, only, practical. The Oxford Ring Road circles the city of Oxford England It is a dual carriageway ring road for most of its length apart from a short section between Woodstock Road and Banbury Road in the north of the city The severe restrictions on traffic in Oxford city centre mean that it is the only practical way for long distance traffic to get past Oxford especially as there are few road bridges over the rivers Isis and Cherwell Five Park and Rides are close to the ring road Contents 1 Junctions list 2 Description 3 History 4 Future 5 ReferencesJunctions list editOxford Ring Road exits Woodstock Road A34 North A44 A40 A4144 Woodstock Road South A40 West A4165 Banbury Road B4150 Marsh Lane Marston A4142 A40 East A420 Headington Headington Roundabout Kiln Lane Beaumont Road Horspath Driftway Horspath Road B480 Garsington Road Sandy Lane West Clockwise Access Only A4158 Littlemore Roundabout A4074 Superstore A423 A4144 Kennington Roundabout Kennington Road Clockwise Access Only Abingdon Road Anti Clockwise Access Only A34 A34 South Hinksey Hill South Hinksey Westminster Way Clockwise Access Only North Hinksey Lane Anti Clockwise Access Only Stanley Close Anti Clockwise Access Only A420 Botley Interchange Unnumbered Road to Wytham Clockwise Access Only Description editThe western section about 6 miles 10 km Southern and Western By pass roads is part of the A34 To the north the connection to complete the ring under 1 mile 1 6 km in total includes a short section of the A40 Sunderland Avenue this is the only part that is not a dual carriageway and a short section of the A44 Woodstock Road The north eastern section about 4 miles 6 km Elsfield Way Northern By pass Road North Way is part of the A40 The south eastern section about 4 miles 6 km Eastern By pass Road is the A4142 The southern section about 1 mile 1 6 km part of Southern By pass Road is designated as the A423 something of an anomaly since the continuation of the A423 southwards was renumbered as the A4074 and the continuation northwards as far as Banbury as the A4260 when the M40 motorway was opened History editThe north eastern section from Headington to Banbury Road is the oldest part of the Oxford Ring Road It was built in the mid 1930s and is part of the A40 In 1938 the southern part of the western section was opened from the bottom of Hinksey Hill to Botley The road was known as the road to nowhere and little used at that time In 1962 it was extended north by a new bridge over the River Thames to Wolvercote and the whole western section then became part of the A34 It was dualled in 1973 The south eastern section between Headington and Rose Hill was opened in 1959 The southern section between Hinksey Hill and Heyford Hill including the new Isis Bridge over the River Thames was opened in 1965 The ring road was completed when the short section between Rose Hill and Heyford Hill was opened in 1966 The ring road has suffered major problems in recent years as housing developments are built next to the ring road leading to more traffic light intersections and roadworks The latest traffic intersection on the Barton Park development which opened in 2017 brings the total number of traffic light intersections on the ring road to 22 1 2 3 4 Future editIn 2023 Oxfordshire County Council plans to rebuild the Kennington Bridge due to degradation of the bridge deck bearings which due to the bridge design cannot easily be replaced The rebuilding process involves several utility diversions and also building over a major railway line and two Thames tributaries 5 References edit Barton Park Development Headington News Warning that traffic chaos in Oxford will only get worse as 46 000 workers now commute to city Oxford Mail Oxford roadworks will be pure hell motorists fear BBC Traffic jams worse than ever in Oxfordshire as businesses count cost of congestion Oxford Mail A423 Kennington Bridge works Oxfordshire County Council Hibbert C ed 1988 Encyclopedia of Oxford Macmillan ISBN 0 333 48614 5 51 47 04 N 1 15 02 W 51 7844 N 1 2505 W 51 7844 1 2505 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oxford Ring Road amp oldid 1189807715, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
