Botley Road three-year closure has cost at least £237m

The road was closed at the rail bridge on April 11, 2023, and initially the closure was only expected to last for months – not years.

“It’s astonishing – and embarrassing – that it is taking Network Rail more than three years to replace a bridge, when other countries manage to replace bridges in about three days,” said city councillor Susanna Pressel.

The road had been supposed to reopen at the bridge temporarily from October 2023 to March 2024 but delays forced Network Rail to re-think and announce the closure would continue until October 2024.

READ MORE: Botley Road station scheme moves to next stage

Network Rail then announced in 2024 there would be further delays, owing to the unforeseen “complexity” of the project, including the discovery of a Victorian arch beneath Botley Road close to the rail bridge.

In February this year, a new rail bridge was installed to boost capacity, and a new western entrance to the station and new platform five is now planned but it is unclear if the funding has been fully agreed by the Department for Transport.

Network Rail contractors remain on schedule to reopen the road by the end of August.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “The latest estimate for the Oxford Phase 2 project, including the works associated with Botley Road, is £237.4m.

“This includes some of the costs associated with the fifth platform and construction of the western entrance, but not all.

“A cost and completion date for work to complete both have yet to be agreed with the Department for Transport, though we are on course to fully reopen the road by the end of August as planned.”

City councillor Susanna Pressel (Image: Oxford Mail)

Ms Pressel added that replacing the rail bridge was “an unusually massive engineering project” because the road had to be lowered, which meant diverting 11 utilities and protecting the much deeper road against flooding.

She said: “The project has created enormous misery for many residents and businesses – and not just the people I represent in the Botley Road area, but also countless residents and businesses to the west of the city, who used to use that route for vital access. I was speaking to a couple of residents just this week who need to get to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

“They can’t possible walk all the way through the tunnel (linking Botley Road and Frideswide Square), from the end of one bus route to the start of another, and a taxi all the way round the ring road would now cost about £50. They say they are not eligible for free patient transport.”

Ms Pressel added that residents and businesses have been upset by the noisy construction work.

She said: “Most building sites are at least quiet at night, but not this one – some work can only take place when no trains are running, so that has meant quite a lot of very noisy work in the early hours of the morning, including massive pile drivers.

“Some residents are in despair.”

The city councillor said she believed Network Rail planned to start work on a new western entrance next year and open it in about mid-2029.

Former county councillor John Howson (Image: Oxford Mail)

Former county councillor John Howson, who lives near Oxford station, said: “The Botley Road closure has been devastating for the whole community – both residents and businesses.

“There needs to be an investigation as to why the brick arch wasn’t detected before work started, and why it took the intervention of a minister (Lord Hendy) to get work back on track.”

In January, community campaigner Julian Le Vay estimated businesses in the area have lost about £50m, with more than 120 jobs lost.

The new platform will eventually serve rail links to Bristol, Bedford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge – and the Cowley Branch Line.