Part of the new Clifton Hampden bypass in Oxfordshire has opened to traffic after contractor GRAHAM completed the scheme’s first major traffic switch.

The 62-hour operation saw vehicles redirected onto newly constructed sections of carriageway, with access arrangements changed for three key locations: Culham Science Centre, Culham Site No.1 business area and Culham railway station.

Work undertaken during the closure included excavation, pavement construction, drainage connections, road marking and signage installation.

The traffic switch means existing sections of road can now be incorporated into the bypass alignment, while maintaining local connections.

The Clifton Hampden bypass forms one of three contracts within Oxfordshire County Council’s £332 million Didcot and surrounding areas major infrastructure programme (HIF1), which is intended to improve journeys across the area.

The bypass has a budget of approximately £37 milliopn and will provide a 2.2km single carriageway linking the B4015 Oxford Road with the A415 at Culham Science Centre. It is designed to divert through-traffic away from Clifton Hampden village.

Construction is also progressing on earthworks, embankments and drainage. Graham said all five major culverts were being installed, with significant sections of the permanent drainage network now in place.

John Deery, project director at Graham, said:

“It’s a great feeling to see cars on the new road. A lot of work went into that weekend, and I’m proud of how the team and our supply chain pulled together to get it done.

“We’ve worked alongside Oxfordshire County Council for a long time now, and that relationship really matters on a job like this. We plan together, we’re honest about the challenges and we tackle them together.”

He added that the bypass and the Didcot to Culham River Crossing were complementary elements of the wider infrastructure programme, which is intended to improve connectivity across the area.

(Picture: Oxfordshire County Council)