Botley Road will continue to be blocked for another 18 months, until August of 2026, according to an announcement this Friday from Network Rail, the company in charge of the project. By the time it re-opens, it will have been closed for over three years.
Botley Road continues on from Park End Street, past Oxford Railway Station, and leads to student accommodation and popular shops with students, such as Aldi, Sports Direct, Decathlon, and Waitrose. Past the ring-road, it connects Oxford with the A34 and A420 road.
The road closed in April 2023 in order for £161 million worth of improvements to be made to the station, including the construction of a new bridge. A large white fence blocks access to the road just before the railway bridge, with traffic being diverted right past Said Business School into the carpark of Oxford Railway Station, and slowing down pedestrian and cyclist access.
The closure was originally meant to be just six months. Network Rail have explained that some of the delays for the closure were caused by “complex utilities diversions” that could not be completed on schedule “despite concerted effort by all organisations involved. Archaeological discoveries such as a Victorian brick arch and a grenade dating to World War II have also impacted the extended period of closure.
The closure has caused much disruption over the last two years. For example, in July of 2024, Oxfordshire County Council postponed a trial of traffic filters because of the delay, and many businesses have reported financial losses as a result.
Rail Minister Lord Hendy visited Oxford to speak to residents and businesses put out by the delays. More than 100 people gathered ahead of his visit on Friday 24th January to protest, demanding that the road be reopened.
Leader of Oxford City Council, Susan Brown, said in a statement posted online “it was welcome that Lord Hendy was clear that Network Rail needed to improve their communication with local residents and businesses and that their commitment to do so was given.” She added “in the light of previous broken promises on timelines, [I] was clear over the importance of keeping to the latest opening date.”
The Green Party councillors called for Oxford City Council to take legal action over what they described as “mismanagement” by Network Rail on Monday 27th January. They have demanded a public enquiry and a reasonable completion date for the project.
Liberal Democrat Member for West Oxford and Abingdon, Layla Moran told Cherwell: “Network Rail have demonstrated utterly shambolic project management from start to finish on this project, and I share residents’ outrage at this latest development. Our community has lost all faith in Network Rail to deliver this project full stop.”
