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A361 repairs begin and might be complete by the end of the month
05/12/2024
The speed of the repairs will depend on what is found once water is pumped out
Its hoped the A361 between Wardington and Chipping Warden will be reopened by the end of this month.
Work to repair a sinkhole has begun today with Oxfordshire County Council’s highways boss acknowledging such a busy route needed to be repaired as a priority.
However, there is a warning that the speed of the repairs will depend on what is found once water is pumped out and excavation work starts.
The road, which links Banbury with Daventry, has been closed since Monday.
Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “This is an extremely busy road, which is why we have made it a priority to have a repair programme in place within days.
“We will reopen the road as soon as it is safe to do so. We hope this will be by the end of December but, unfortunately, there are no guarantees when it comes to work of this nature. In the meantime, we would urge motorists to follow the diversion routes that are in place to ensure everyone’s safety.”
It is believed that the sinkhole is a result of the recent flooding of the River Cherwell, causing washout of fill to affect a brick water pipe (culvert) running under the road. The most recent inspection of the culvert by the council’s highways teams, carried out before the flooding, showed no cause for concern in the culvert’s condition.
The washed out material has blocked the watercourse, submerging the culvert. The water will be pumped out to enable the culvert to be inspected, so that the full extent of required repairs can be determined.
The culvert may need to be temporarily replaced by a pipe to enable the sinkhole to be backfilled and the road reopened while a longer term repair is planned.
Cllr Gant added: “This is a pretty stark example of the kind of pressure our large and rural road network is experiencing from extreme weather. I am very grateful to our officers and contractors for getting out on site as soon as possible to put a plan in place for mitigation and repair.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam