A £25m road scheme that has been in the planning for 15 years has taken a step forward but there is still no confirmed works start date.
Initial works for the Access to Witney project, which involves building new slip roads at the A40's junction with Shores Green, should start next month.
A traffic regulation order has been issued of an overnight road closure on A40 Witney Bypass eastbound and westbound on February 2 – 4 to remove power cables ahead of carriageway works.
But although a spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council confirmed this will allow "parts of the enabling works" to be carried out they said the the council is still finalising planning for major construction.
The latest start date is 'early 2025' with completion in spring 2026.
When the slip roads are complete, traffic from northeast Witney will be able to travel westbound on the A40 towards Burford and Cheltenham, bypassing the town centre, Bridge Street and the Ducklington Lane junction.
Construction was expected to begin in November. However, it was held up by the county council's continued negoatiations with landowners.
A traffic closure order was withdrawn and Witney North councillor Duncan Enright, who has campaigned for the slip roads for over 10 years, said he had 'a scare' when the scheme was mistakenly announced as not starting until 2026 at a full council meeting.
The new westbound slip roads are part of the Witney area strategy, which is funded separately and includes Eynsham park and ride, and new bus lanes and junction improvements between Eynsham and Wolvercote.
The section of single carriageway road from Cogges to Eynsham park and ride was originally proposed for dualling was dropped due to funding pressures.
The original plans also included a roundabout and farm access bridge for the junction at Barnard Gate, an accident blackspot, and improvements to the narrow cycleway there.
The cost of the slip roads is £25million funded through a combination of the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal and Section 106 contributions from developers.
It was originally estimated at only a fraction of the current cost but inflation means it has become far more expensive with time.
They will support the delivery of major new housing development sites planned in east and north Witney as part of the West Oxfordshire Local Plan.
Planning permission was granted for 450 houses, including 40 per cent affordable homes, on two parcels of land – Cogges Triangle and Cogges South - east of Oxford Hill in July 2024.
Eynsham county councillor Dan Levy, whose division incorporates the junction, said the slip roads "will benefit all the residents of Witney, not least because it will reduce pollution and traffic jams on Bridge Street".
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