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The Oxford Ring Road circles the city of Oxford, England. It is a
dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
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 Rides 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 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. Route It starts in Banbury town centre as Southam Road and goes through the Southam Road Industrial Estate, ...
, 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 The M40 motorway links London, Oxford and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately . The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entry slip-r ...
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. ...
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 Hinksey Hill is a hill and residential area south of the centre of Oxford. It is in South Hinksey civil parish, about south of the village. Hinksey Hill was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire ...
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 Domesd ...
, 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 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. The bridge was built ...
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. 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 A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
Roads in Oxfordshire Ring roads in the United Kingdom