NEIGHBOURS breathed a sigh of relief after the county council caved in to demands to close their street off during major roadworks to two notorious north Oxford bottlenecks.

Motorists are being warned to expect significant congestion when workers will begin the 16 months of improvements to the Cutteslowe and Wolvercote roundabouts tomorrow.

Lanes in and out of both roundabouts will be reduced while the £10m of improvements are carried out to introduce new pedestrian crossings, widen the A40 and A44 approaches and install new traffic lights.

However, residents of the northern branch of Sunderland Avenue lobbied the county to close their road off to stop it becoming a dangerous cut through.

John Handley told members on a meeting on Tuesday that motorists speed down their street well above the 20mph speed limit.

He added: “We understand the A40 roadworks are necessary, but this is about our concerns for health and safety.”

But within hours of the meeting finishing the county council agreed to shut the western entrance to Sunderland Avenue.

Top News

County council spokesman Paul Smith said: “We will be closing off the first entrance on to Sunderland Avenue as you come off Wolvercote roundabout in response to concerns raised by residents.

“The closure will be put in place on Monday night after 8pm and will then be effective 24 hours throughout the work.”

The improvements to the two roundabouts are part of a series of schemes which have already seen the A423 Southern Bypass at Kennington and London Road, Headington, upgraded.

Other work includes new off-road cycle lanes, reduced speed limits on the A40 and A44 approaches to the two roundabouts, resurfacing the roads and new lighting.

Temporary speed limit reductions will be in place for the duration of the works, but the A40 will be closed a limited number of times during off peak night-time hours.