Vale of White Horse District Council today welcomed the news that residents and commuters who use the A338 Wantage Road, which runs through Grove, will experience significantly less disruption from rail electrification works than had been anticipated.
Last December many in the Vale community expressed great concern after learning that work to be carried out by Network Rail, which will allow for the electrification of the Great Western Railway line, would result in an 18 mile diversion being put in place for six months while the Station Road bridge in Grove is replaced.
Following pressure from residents and civic leaders, and the refusal of Oxfordshire County Council to approve the closure of the A338 to allow the work to take place, Network Rail have confirmed that they have developed a new proposal to rebuild the bridge. Under the new plans the road will be allowed to stay open and only close for a very short period of time while the new bridge, which is to be constructed off-site, is installed.
Cllr Matthew Barber, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “This news will be a massive relief to many people who live and work in the Vale who faced the prospect of having their lives significantly disrupted for six months while the electrification work takes place. With the scale of work that has to be carried out you have to expect some disruption, however the original plan was simply not acceptable. Thankfully Network Rail have now put forward a sensible alternative.”
Update (9 June) on A417 Challow Road and B4017 Steventon High Street: Unfortunately it will not be possible to construct a second road bridge alongside the existing one at either Challow Road or Steventon High Street. The works at these locations will therefore involve road closures, but as far as is possible overlap of these closures with other schemes will be avoided, and it will be ensured that A417 Challow Road and B4017 Steventon High Street are not closed simultaneously.
The A417 Challow Road bridge will be closed from September to December 2014 whilst the B4017 Steventon High Street bridge will be closed from January 2015 to August 2015.
Final details, such as the start dates work to commence, will be confirmed by Network Rail in the coming weeks.