The Oxford Ring Road circles the city of Oxford, England. It is a dual carriageway ring road for most of its length apart from a short section between Woodstock Road and Banbury Road in the north of the city. The severe restrictions on traffic in Oxford city centre mean that it is the only practical way for long-distance traffic to get past Oxford, especially as there are few road bridges over the rivers Isis and Cherwell. Five Park and Rides are close to the ring road.
Oxford Ring Road | |
exits | |
Woodstock Road | |
A34 North, A44 | |
A40 | |
A4144 (Woodstock Road South), A40 West | |
A4165 (Banbury Road) | |
B4150 (Marsh Lane), Marston | |
A4142 | |
A40 East, A420, Headington, (Headington Roundabout) | |
Kiln Lane, Beaumont Road | |
Horspath Driftway | |
Horspath Road | |
B480 (Garsington Road) | |
Sandy Lane West (Clockwise Access Only) | |
A4158 (Littlemore Roundabout) | |
A4074, Superstore | |
A423 | |
A4144 (Kennington Roundabout) | |
Kennington Road (Clockwise Access Only) | |
Abingdon Road (Anti-Clockwise Access Only) | |
A34 | |
A34 South, Hinksey Hill | |
South Hinksey | |
Westminster Way (Clockwise Access Only), North Hinksey Lane (Anti-Clockwise Access Only) | |
Stanley Close (Anti-Clockwise Access Only) | |
A420, (Botley Interchange) | |
Unnumbered Road to Wytham (Clockwise Access Only) |
The north-eastern section, from Headington to Banbury Road, is the oldest part of the Oxford Ring Road. It was built in the mid-1930s and is part of the A40.
In 1938 the southern part of the western section was opened from the bottom of Hinksey Hill to Botley. The road was known as the "road to nowhere" and little used at that time. In 1962 it was extended north by a new bridge over the River Thames to Wolvercote, and the whole western section then became part of the A34. It was dualled in 1973.
The south-eastern section between Headington and Rose Hill was opened in 1959. The southern section between Hinksey Hill and Heyford Hill, including the new Isis Bridge over the River Thames, was opened in 1965. The ring road was completed when the short section between Rose Hill and Heyford Hill was opened in 1966.
The ring road has suffered major problems in recent years as housing developments are built next to the ring road leading to more traffic light intersections and roadworks. The latest traffic intersection on the Barton Park development, which opened in 2017, brings the total number of traffic light intersections on the ring road to 22. [1] [2] [3] [4]
In 2023, Oxfordshire County Council plans to rebuild the Kennington Bridge due to degradation of the bridge deck bearings, which due to the bridge design, cannot easily be replaced. The rebuilding process involves several utility diversions and also building over a major railway line and two Thames tributaries [5]
The M40 motorway links London, Oxford, and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately 89 miles (143 km).
The A40 is a trunk road which runs between London and Goodwick (Fishguard), Wales, and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road (A40) in all legal documents and Acts. Much of its length within England has been superseded by motorways, such as the M40, and has lost its trunk road status, though it retains it west of Gloucester, including its length within Wales. It is approximately 260 miles (420 km) long. The eastern section from Denham, Buckinghamshire to Wheatley, Oxfordshire is better served by the M40 and its former function of linking London with Cheltenham and Gloucester has been taken by the M4, A419 and A417 via Swindon.
The A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A33 and M3 at Winchester in Hampshire, to the A6 and A6042 in Salford, close to Manchester City Centre. It forms a large part of the major trunk route from Southampton, via Oxford, to Birmingham, The Potteries and Manchester. For most of its length, it forms part of the former Winchester–Preston Trunk Road. Improvements to the section of road forming the Newbury Bypass around Newbury were the scene of significant direct action environmental protests in the 1990s. It is 151 miles (243 km) long.
The A44 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales.
The River Cherwell is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises near Hellidon, Northamptonshire and flows southwards for 40 miles (64 km) to meet the Thames at Oxford in Oxfordshire.
The A361 is an A class road in southern England, which at 195 miles (314 km) is the longest three-digit A road in the UK.
Botley is a village in the civil parish of Botley and North Hinksey, in the Vale of White Horse district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England, just west of the Oxford city boundary. Historically part of Berkshire, it stands on the Seacourt Stream, a stream running off the River Thames. The intersection of the A34 and A420 is to the village's north.
The A43 is a primary route in the English Midlands and northern South East England, that runs from the M40 motorway near Ardley in Oxfordshire to Stamford in Lincolnshire. Through Northamptonshire it bypasses the towns of Northampton, Kettering and Corby which are the three principal destinations on the A43 route. The A43 also links to the M1 motorway.
Lower Heyford is a village and civil parish beside the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Bicester. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 492.
The A420 is a road between Bristol and Oxford in England. Between Swindon and Oxford it is a primary route.
South Hinksey is a village and civil parish just over 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the centre of Oxford. The parish includes the residential area of Hinksey Hill about 0.5 miles (800 m) south of the village. The parish was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.
Hinksey Stream is a branch of the River Thames to the west of the city of Oxford, England. It starts as Seacourt Stream, which leaves the Thames at a bifurcation north of the village of Wytham, and rejoins the river south of the city near Kennington.
Abingdon Road is the main arterial road to the south of the city of Oxford, England. The road passes through the suburbs of Grandpont and New Hinksey. It is named after the town of Abingdon to the south.
The A423 road is a primary A road in England in two sections. The main section leads from central Banbury to the A45 near Coventry.
The A4074 is a British A road from the Reading suburb of Caversham to the Heyford Hill roundabout on the Oxford Ring Road.
The A4130 is a British A road which runs from a junction with the A404 at Burchetts Green (Maidenhead), Berkshire to the A417 at Rowstock in Oxfordshire. It passes through Henley-on-Thames, and Nettlebed, and bypasses Wallingford and Didcot.
Isis Bridge is a modern road bridge across the River Thames just south of Oxford, England. It carries the Oxford Ring Road, part of the A423 road, across the Thames on the reach between Sandford Lock and Iffley Lock.