The Oxford Ring Road circles the city of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. It is a dual carriageway ring road for most of its length apart from a short section between Woodstock Road and

Banbury Road Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the ...

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 Ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...

s are close to the ring road.

Description

*The western section (about ; "Southern and Western By-pass roads") is part of the A34. *To the north, the connection to complete the ring (under in total) includes a short section of the A40 ("Sunderland Avenue"; this is the only part that is not a dual carriageway) and a short section of the A44 ("Woodstock Road"). *The north-eastern section (about ;"Elsfield Way; Northern By-pass Road; North Way") is part of the A40. *The south-eastern section (about ; "Eastern By-pass Road") is the A4142. *The southern section (about ; part of "Southern By-pass Road") is designated as the A423, something of an anomaly since the continuation of the A423 southwards was renumbered as the A4074, and the continuation northwards as far as Banbury as the A4260, when the M40 motorway was opened.

History

The north-eastern section, from

Headington Headington is an eastern suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames valley below, and bordering Marston to the north-west, Cowley to the south, and Barton and Risinghurst to the east. Th ...

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 Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. History The Domesday B ...

, 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 The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, 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. 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

References

*Hibbert, C. (ed) (1988) ''Encyclopedia of Oxford'' Macmillan {{coord, 51.7844, -1.2505, dim:20000_region:GB, display=title Ring road Roads in Oxfordshire Ring roads in the United Kingdom