Oxford flood defence scheme delayed due to bridge works

Work to replace a bridge on the route of a planned artificial river in Oxford will not be completed until 2025.

Oxfordshire County Council initially planned to repair the A423 Kennington Railway Bridge until inspections in 2019 found it was unfixable.

The authority said dealing with a major road, water and electricity, in order to remove the old bridge, would take longer to complete than first planned.

The new £40m bridge is on the route of a £150m flood defence scheme.

Work on replacing the bridge, which was built in 1965, started in August.

Archaeological survey trenches have also been dug in a field close to the A34 at South Hinksey.

Once the construction is finished, the Oxford Flood Alleviation project, which has been delayed further due to the bridge works, will eventually see a stream created to the west of Oxford.

The aim of the scheme is to take rainwater off the fields and to prevent flooding.

The River Cherwell and River Thames both run through the city which and floods have occurred in 2007, 2012 and 2013/14.

The county council previously said designing and building both the bridge and flood alleviation scheme together would "reduce disruption" and "ensure the best use of public money".