Sinkhole road reopens after weeks of repairs

Repair works on a road that was forced to close when a sinkhole appeared has finished far sooner than first thought.

The A361 between Wardington in Oxfordshire and Chipping Warden in Northamptonshire had been forced to close earlier this month after heavy rain led to the appearance of a sinkhole.

Oxfordshire County Council previously said the road was likely "to take several weeks or months to fix".

But the authority has now confirmed that the road reopened on Thursday.

Councillor Andrew Gant, OCC's transport chief, said: "I am extremely grateful to our highways teams for making this such a priority and for reopening this busy road earlier than expected.

"While this repair work was carried on an emergency basis in order to reopen the road as quickly as possible, we will be working with our partners at Cherwell District Council and the Environment Agency in the new year to explore whether more permanent repairs are necessary.

"If this is the case, residents can be assured that they will be carried out as planned works which should be less disruptive to users of this busy road."

Chris Brant, who represents the local area on Cherwell District Council, added: "The last few weeks have been difficult for many residents, so this will be very welcome news."

The sinkhole was believed to have been caused by flooding of the nearby River Cherwell, which submerged a culvert - a brick water pipe - running under the road.

Local residents previously told the BBC they were being "cut out" due to the road closure.

Mark Chivers, who is disabled, said those without any transport were "really quite stuck".

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