Your questions about the A40 programme answered

What are the new plans for A40 improvements?

Oxfordshire County Council is seeking planning approval for the A40 Eynsham Park and Ride to Wolvercote scheme. The full scheme, which measures 7.3km / 4.5miles in length, includes the following: 

• Full bus priority eastbound along the A40 between the new Eynsham park and ride and Wolvercote 
• Bus priority westbound along the A40 between Cassington and the new Eynsham park and ride 
• A high-quality active travel route along the A40 between the new Eynsham park and ride and Wolvercote, featuring upgrades: 
• South side new 3m wide shared path continuous from Eynsham park and ride through to Wolvercote (longer term, walking and cycling trips will be concentrated on the south side of the A40 moving east of Eynsham). 
• North side new and widened shared path between the Eynsham park and ride site and A40 - Lower Road junction, and also through Cassington. 
• Five new and two upgraded signal-controlled crossings of the A40 for active travel 
• A new junction onto the A40 from the park and ride, located to the west of Eynsham 
• Major junction improvements and capacity enhancement at Cassington and at the A40 Lower Road roundabout. 
• New bus stops and bus shelters throughout 
• New planting and landscaping 
• Improved drainage and flood risk management measures. 
• Road safety improvements, new road signage as well as new lighting through built up areas. 

The current scheme designs come after an extensive review of the A40 improvements programme due to continued high inflation and construction cost increases since 2022. Despite the challenge of global inflationary pressures, the council has worked with the government to secure funding, adapting the programme's design and phasing its delivery to provide upgrades to travel in this area.

The improvements now proposed in the A40 Eynsham Park and Ride to Wolvercote are focused on the parts of the route where buses and their passengers will get the most journey time savings.

While the planning application covers the full scope of the scheme, the delivery of scheme will be done in phases. The first phase will be delivered using the available funding from the government. It includes the following: 

A. between Eynsham Park and Ride and Cassington (approx. 3.5 km): 

• A new A40 junction at the park and ride site 
• Continuous eastbound and westbound bus lanes 
• Upgrades to active travel (walking and cycling) pathways north and south sides 
• Five new A40 controlled crossings 
• Two upgraded A40 controlled crossings at Witney Rd and Cassington Junction 
• Improvements to uncontrolled crossings   
• Capacity enhancements at Lower Road roundabout 
• Major capacity enhancement of the two signalised junctions at Cassington. 

B. Over Duke's Cut Bridges (approx. 800m): 

• An eastbound bus lane over Duke's Cut bridges connecting to the eastbound bus lane at Oxford North 
• An upgraded and widened active travel pathway on the south side connecting with Oxford North. 

The first phase of work has been designed to safeguard the future delivery of the remaining elements of the full scheme. When further funding becomes available, the county council can then deliver the remaining phases without delay. 

Is the council making a new planning application? 

The previous planning application for the A40 scheme has been withdrawn as this project now requires a new planning application, backed up by a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). A formal scoping request for the EIA will be submitted soon. The ongoing public engagement is an important part of the pre-application process.

The A40 Eynsham park and ride to Wolvercote scheme needs to be built out in phases, as they become affordable. The planning application will cover all phases of the scheme The planning application will be submitted in Spring 2025.

How are you engaging with residents on the new plans? 

We organised a public engagement on the A40 Eynsham park and ride to Wolvercote scheme to inform and seek feedback from residents and businesses in West Oxfordshire, especially those who rely on the A40 corridor between Witney and Oxford. The engagement commenced on 25 November 2024 and ended 01 January 2025, with two exhibitions in Cassington and Eynsham on 25 November and 4 December respectively. 

Information on the scheme remains available online and the county council will continue to update the project webpage to keep residents informed. 

What happened to the plan to dual the A40 carriageway? 

The council no longer has the funding to deliver the whole of the original A40/HIF2 scheme proposal in one go. Cabinet decided in July 2023 to prioritise funding on the more sustainable ways of travel (bus priority, walking, cycling, wheeling), which is in line with both national and local transport strategies and guidance. For this section of the A40, it is important first to try to deliver a shift to active travel or using the bus, before considering significant increases to general road capacity.

Why did you revise the original scheme?

A cost review in the summer of 2022 uncovered the considerable extent of cost inflation since the scheme’s business case was first submitted to Homes England in 2019. From that point, the original A40 improvement programme was no longer achievable within the available budget. Therefore, the project had to be revised. Cabinet decided to prioritise measures that would significantly improve active travel choices and using the bus. The council is now proposing a revised scheme that can be delivered affordably and still provide overall transport benefits.

Does the revised scheme still provide sufficient benefits now? 

The A40 Eynsham Park and Ride to Wolvercote scheme, when delivered, will help increase the road’s total passenger capacity along the corridor by expanding bus and active travel infrastructure and increasing choice of travel mode. It will enable more frequent, faster and more reliable bus travel along the A40 to destinations across Oxfordshire. 

The scheme is also going to enable more trips via sustainable modes, reducing dependency on low occupancy private vehicles. Crucially, the scheme will support the major new housing developments proposed along the A40 at Eynsham and Witney. 

When will the A40 Eynsham park and ride to Wolvercote scheme be delivered?

We are submitting a new planning application for the full scheme in spring 2025. Timing of construction will depend on when the scheme receives it planning consent but it could start in late 2025 or early 2026. Construction of the first phase of the scheme should be complete by summer 2028. 

Are there going to be major disruptions during the construction phase?

As with any large construction project that involves changes to an existing highway, there is always a certain amount of disruption. We will seek to minimise disruption as much as possible. We will also aim to keep the A40 open throughout construction, using temporary signals and other measures where necessary. We will aim to minimise disruption through a combination of evening and weekend working, plus the use of off-site construction to reduce on-site construction time. 

The scheme has been carefully planned and designed to ensure the least impact on existing vegetation and ecology and to protect trees along the route.  Every effort has been made to avoid expensive and disruptive structural works, reduce the need to acquire third-party land and reduce risk of delays. 

Is the new scheme connected to other OCC projects? 

The scheme directly links to three other parts of the overall A40 improvements programme: Oxford North at the eastern end of this programme, the recently completed Eynsham park and ride, and the Access to Witney (Shores Green) slip roads. Although the Oxford North project is complete, the full benefits will not be realised until the eastbound bus lane and shared-use paths are connected just east of the A34 overbridge. The operability of the Eynsham park and ride is directly linked to the delivery of the revised project, particularly the connection to the A40 via a signalised junction and bus priority measures. 

What is the rationale for a park and ride at Eynsham?

The Eynsham park and ride, when operational, will combine existing bus services to/from Eynsham, Witney and Carterton as well as new services to deliver high-frequency bus services offering direct connections to a range of destinations in and around Oxford.  The location at Eynsham is appropriate as it offers the most cost-effective solution for all.  In comparison, siting the park and ride at Witney would require a greater number of buses to serve the network and would therefore be considerably more expensive to provide the same level of service.

Population from a wide catchment will have access to the facility and private vehicle trips can be intercepted before the most constrained and congested sections of the A40. 

Residents of Eynsham and Cassington will benefit from the service improvements planned once the park and ride and bus lanes are in place and will be able to access A40 services from new bus stops facilities with real-time information.

Why did the council build the park and ride three years before the delivery of the bus lanes to serve it?

The park and ride site and the A40 improvements scheme which included bus lanes, active travel improvements and the connection to the A40 were planned to be delivered simultaneously until late 2022. Then it became clear that cost pressures caused by high inflation affected the council’s ability to deliver the whole of the A40 improvements within available budget. 

The council decided to go ahead with the Eynsham park and ride because it was fully funded by a ring-fenced and non-indexed grant award and had obtained all the relevant consents and approvals to allow it to proceed to construction. Any delays to the park and ride construction would have caused inflationary pressures to impact its affordability. Going ahead with construction of the park and ride site has saved millions of pounds in inflation and construction costs. 

What are the costs of building and maintaining the park and ride? 

The park and ride cost £32m out of the £51m budgeted for the Science Transit (ST2) scheme, which included the park and ride and an eastbound bus lane. The eastbound bus lane and the connection now form part of the A40 Eynsham Park and Ride to Wolvercote scheme.

Following the completion of the permanent landscaping at the Eynsham park and ride, ongoing maintenance of the site is being provided as part of the existing delivery contract. It is important to note that the council is not incurring any additional costs on this maintenance, as it is covered by the construction contract. 

What sort of junction on the A40 will serve the Park and Ride? 

The proposed access junction for Eynsham Park and Ride will have traffic signals. The junction design includes crossings for both pedestrians and cyclists across the A40 and across the park and ride access road. The A40 Eynsham Park and Ride to Wolvercote Scheme will provide a 3-arm (T-junction) layout. It will also allow for a possible 4th arm to be provided in future, as indicated in the approved masterplan for the new development at West Eynsham. That access road, and a further pedestrian and cycle crossing across it, will be funded by the developer.

When do you plan to open the park and ride? 

The first phase of the A40 Eynsham Park and Ride to Wolvercote scheme will deliver the connection that will enable the park and ride to begin operation by 2027. 

Do you have plan for the site during the 3-year wait?

We have investigated a variety of interim uses for the site in advance of it becoming fully operational. But our focus right now is to deliver the connection to the A40 and the bus lanes to make sure the park and ride is made operational for the benefit of residents and motorists along the A40. 

How to keep up to date with what's going on

You can keep up to date with progress via the A40 improvements project page. We will post updates on Oxfordshire County Council’s Facebook and Twitter page. You can also sign up to our project e-bulletin which will be sent out via email.