Botley Road gas works completed by SGN ahead of reopening

SGN has completed the works and left the site ahead of its anticipated finish date of Saturday, August 8.

This means Botley Road should be on schedule to reopen to traffic on Sunday, September 20.

Engineers found three minor leaks in the ageing metal gas main during drainage excavations in July, forcing another delay to the long‑running road closure.

Botley Road has been shut to motor traffic since April 2023 to allow an overhaul of Oxford station, including new platforms and better walking and cycling links.

Roadworks in Botley Road (Image: Frank Dumbleton)

Works were initially expected to last for 12 months, but once completed will have taken more than three-and-a-half years.

The leaks added up to six weeks to the newly advertised August 31 reopening while SGN replaced a section of pipe beneath the road.

The works, which were initially supposed to finish in October 2024, were hit with setbacks throughout, including the discovery of a Victorian arc and a grenade from the Second World War.

Businesses and residents alike endured 1,260 days of disruption since its closure, including 24-hour working, but also being cut off from central and east Oxford.

Oxford West and Abingdon MP, Layla Moran, previously wrote to the Transport Secretary demanding answers and requesting an urgent meeting. 

She described the delays as “calamitous and catastrophic” for local residents and businesses.

But, SGN said the work was vital to prevent future disruptive repairs and to keep gas supplies safe and reliable.

The new Botley Road walkway (Image: Andy Ffrench)

Now the main has been upgraded, Network Rail is responsible for finishing work under the bridge and around the station.

The cost of repair work has risen from £161m to £237m, and it is understood that the western entrance project has not yet been fully costed.

Meanwhile, there is uncertainty about when the Oxford traffic filter scheme will start, and the congestion charge will end.

The traffic filters, originally approved in 2022 but held up by the initial closure, were set to replace the congestion charge on September 14, but have been postponed again by the repeated delays.

Oxfordshire County Council transport boss previously told the Oxford Mail it will consider its traffic filter trial and announce the start date at the “earliest opportunity” once it has “absolute certainty” of its opening.