A FAULTY link between traffic lights and a control room was partly to blame for the M40/A34 traffic chaos last week.
Last Friday night the fault affecting signals at Junction 9 of the M40 near Bicester caused miles of tailbacks on the motorway, and resulted in traffic queuing miles down the A34 to Abingdon.
The fault with sequencing – the second of its kind in 16 weeks – caused hour-long delays, made worse by a crash and a rush of travellers at the end of schools’ half-term.
The Highways Agency, which was carrying out work at the site, sent engineers to fix the problem, but by 5.30pm it was still ongoing.
An agency spokesman said: “As soon as we became aware of the issues with the traffic lights we tasked our contractors to look into the problem as a matter of urgency. The problem has been identified as a faulty link between traffic signals and the Oxfordshire County Council control room and we continue to work with the council, who control the traffic lights, to find a solution.”
County council cabinet member for transport David Nimmo Smith said council staff would work to find a solution as quickly as possible.
He said: “We recognise this is an important junction and any hold-ups in the movement of traffic can have a very detrimental impact over a wide area.
“But it is in our interests to fix this problem, because when people try to avoid the M40 or A34 they end up using rat-runs through rural areas.”
Our top stories
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel