Botley Road reopened on Sunday after almost three and a half years. The new bridge clears 4.4 metres, the cycleways under it run one way, and night works go on.

Botley Road reopened to traffic on Sunday morning, almost three and a half years after Network Rail shut it beneath the railway bridge in April 2023.

Network Rail confirmed it in a statement the same day, saying the road had reopened “this morning, reconnecting west Oxford with the city centre”. Both bus operators rebuilt their Oxford networks on the same morning, and a week today the congestion charge is replaced by six traffic filters.

If you have not driven, cycled or walked under the bridge since 2023, four things are different.

  • The new bridge is higher. The county council says it has a 4.4 metre height clearance, enough for double deckers, and that warning signs are going up as far out as the ring road.
  • There are two four-metre walkways under the bridge, one on each side. The walkways are two-way, but the cycleways on them are one-way. Cycle into the city on the northern side, past the station; cycle out of it on the southern side, past the Westgate Hotel.
  • A new footbridge opened on Sunday linking Becket Street car park to the front of Oxford station, and the Becket Street parking spaces used during construction have gone back into use.
  • Seacourt park and ride buses now run straight into the city centre instead of turning at Osney Island, and Oxford Bus Company’s 400 is back at up to every 10 minutes.

Two things that helped people through the closure have stopped. The Botley Flyer, the free accessible minibus between west Oxford and the centre, ran for the last time on Saturday 19 September. The temporary station gate between Platform 4 and Roger Dudman Way, opened so people with reduced mobility could reach the station while Botley Road was shut, closed on Sunday and was not staffed after 9pm on the Saturday.

Tim Walden, Network Rail’s Wales and Western region capital delivery director, said: “Today is an important day for Oxford. We know the closure of Botley Road has had a significant impact on residents, businesses and everyone who relies on this route, and we are sorry for the disruption and frustration it has caused.”

Why it took from April 2023 to September 2026

Network Rail closed the road to demolish and replace the bridge as part of the expansion of Oxford station, which the company says is needed because the railway around the station is near full capacity and cannot support East West Rail services to Milton Keynes.

Its own account of the delays names three causes:

  • the discovery of a Victorian brick arch beneath the road that was not in any existing survey or record;
  • complex utility diversions involving drainage and water infrastructure;
  • and, in July this year, a section of gas pipe uncovered during excavation that sat directly beneath the road and had to be replaced urgently.

The gas find is why the road did not open at the end of August. Network Rail said in July that three minor leaks had been found on part of the network owned by SGN, and that it had agreed to let SGN replace that section while the road was already shut rather than dig it up again later.

The programme had already been rewritten once. On 24 January 2025 Network Rail launched a new plan that put reopening the road first, after engineering problems it says held progress up by 18 months.

Botley Road: from closure to reopening Timeline of the Botley Road closure. Closed April 2023. New programme launched 24 January 2025. Bridge replaced February 2026 during a nine-day railway closure. Gas pipe found July 2026. Road reopened 20 September 2026. Traffic filters start 28 September 2026. Botley Road: three years and five months shut Sources: Network Rail (Oxfordshire Connect, Botley Road bridge replacement, press releases 29 July and 20 September 2026) and Oxfordshire County Council (Reopening of Botley Road; traffic filters). Apr 2023 Road closed at the rail bridge 24 Jan 2025 New programme, road prioritised Feb 2026 Bridge replaced in a 9-day railway closure Jul 2026 Gas pipe found, August date lost 20 Sep 2026 Reopened 28 Sep Traffic filters start Not finished: Thames Water is still repairing its mains pipe at Osney Bridge, working 8pm to 6am with a lane closure. No end date published. Network Rail says it and SGN will "continue to work collaboratively to complete the remaining works". Graphic by The Oxford Post.
The closure ran from April 2023 to 20 September 2026. The traffic filters, which the council made conditional on the road reopening, start eight days later.

What is not finished

Botley Road being open does not mean the work on it has stopped.

Thames Water is still repairing its mains pipe at Osney Bridge, further west along Botley Road. The county council says that from 19 September it switched to night working only, 8pm to 6am, with a lane closure and traffic management in place during those hours to finish the job. No completion date has been published.

Network Rail says it and SGN “will continue to work collaboratively to complete the remaining works as quickly and safely as possible”, without saying what remains or when it ends.

And if you go looking for information, be careful which page you land on. Network Rail’s own Botley Road bridge replacement page still carried a timeline ending “August 2026: Botley Road reopens” when we checked it on Monday, still told readers that buses terminate either side of the bridge, and still listed Botley Flyer pick-up times. The county council’s reopening page is the one being kept up to date.

Next Monday, the rules change again

The reopening was the condition for the rest of the county’s Oxford traffic plan.

On Monday 28 September the temporary congestion charge ends and six traffic filters start under an experimental order made on 24 August. The filters sit at Hythe Bridge Street, St Clements, St Cross Road, Thames Street, Hollow Way and Marston Ferry Road. The council’s argument for ending the charge now is exactly that Botley Road is open: with it back, it says every part of Oxford can be reached by car without passing a filter.

The practical difference is that the £5 payment option disappears. Under the congestion charge you could pay to drive through. Under the filters you cannot, and a car without a permit is fined £70, halved to £35 if paid within 21 days, with warning notices instead of fines for a first breach during the first six months.

Three permit types tied to the old central area also expire that day. We set out who has to act, and who does not, in Oxford traffic filters: the permits that expire on 28 September.

What it means for you

  • Driving west to east. Botley Road works as a through route again, including for buses. The height limit under the bridge is 4.4 metres, so check before you take a van or a motorhome through, and expect a lane closure at Osney Bridge overnight.
  • Cycling. The cycleways under the bridge are one-way. Northern side into town, southern side out of town. You no longer have to dismount.
  • Catching a bus. Timetables and route numbers changed across the city on Sunday, not just on Botley Road. Check the number as well as the time: several routes kept the road and changed the number. The detail is in Oxford bus changes, 20 September.
  • Getting to the station. The new Becket Street footbridge is the quick way in from the car park. The temporary Roger Dudman Way gate has gone, so if you used it for step-free access, plan the front of the station instead.
  • Driving into the centre after next Monday. If you do not have a permit, the paid-through option is gone. Work out now whether your usual route crosses one of the six filters.

The live list of what is shut across the city this week, including the A34 overnight closures and the film crew on Broad Street, is on our Oxford roadworks and travel page. Parking charges and permit rules are in parking in Oxford.