A £218 million Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) bid will be spent on new roads and bridges in Didcot, Oxfordshire.

This forms part of an agreement with Homes England to help provide access to the Didcot Garden Town area. It is hoped that the new roads and bridges will help ease congestion as the town copes with extra traffic.

The funding will be spent on four main projects, including; widening the A4130 from A34 Milton Interchange towards Didcot from single to dual carriageway; a new Science Bridge over the A4130, Great Western Railway Line and Milton Road into the former Didcot A Power Station site; a new Didcot to Culham bridge between the A4130 and A415 and a Clifton Hampden bypass

All of the schemes include segregated walking and cycling routes and will support new bus services.

The total costs of the new infrastructure is £234 million, with £16 million not covered by the HIF bid coming from contributions made by housing developers.

Ian Hudspeth, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council said: “This is great news for the sustainable growth ambitions of Oxfordshire. It demonstrates that Government is listening and the recognition that infrastructure is required in parallel to the delivery of new homes. The infrastructure will also be vital to economic growth and support job creation in an area important to the local and national economy whilst helping to support the objectives of Didcot Garden Town; It’s a significant win for the people of Oxfordshire.”

The growth in new homes and jobs over the last 30 years has led to a huge increase in traffic, says the council. The HIF schemes an important part of the Local Plans of the two district councils which have a say in different parts of Didcot: Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district councils.

Oxfordshire County Council has also announced that another £102 million HIF bid, awarded last November, will be spent on turning parts of the A40 in West Oxfordshire into a dual carriageway as well as extending a bus lane.