Botley Road Reopening Has Shown 'No Change' After £237m Cost and 41 Months Closed

Railway bridge construction project cost more than London Eye and Millennium Bridge

The railway bridge over a two-lane road also took more than three and a half years to complete

Oxfordshire railway bridge cost more than London Eye and twice as long to build

A road in Oxford finally reopened after being shut for approximately 41 months with the project surpassing the cost of the London Eye. The scheme to replace the Botley Road rail bridge and redesign the surrounding layout cost nearly £90million more than the London landmark, which was erected in just 14 months for the equivalent of £150million in today's money.Costs surged by 47 per cent from an original budget of £161million to a whopping £237.4…

Botley Road drivers are facing queues the day after reopening

Drivers in Botley Road in Oxford are facing traffic queues the day after reopening

Cabbies rejoice as Oxford's Botley Road finally reopens after three and a half years of misery

Botley Road in Oxford reopened to traffic on Sunday 20 September 2026, ending a closure of roughly three and a half years that had forced taxi and private hire drivers onto a six-mile detour, according to Oxfordshire County Council, which oversaw the works. The road closed in April 2023 to allow construction beneath the railway bridge as part of the wider expansion of Oxford station, a project intended to increase the number of train services ru…