Abingdon Roadworks This Week: Peachcroft Lights, A34 Nights

Two sets of temporary traffic lights now sit on the A4183 Oxford Road at the north end of Abingdon, one at the Peachcroft roundabout and one at Lodge Hill. The county council expects them to overlap for about six weeks from 28 September. The A34 also closes at night on both sides of the town this week. Here is what is shut now, what is coming, and what it costs to park when you get there.

Last checked against the source notices on 29 September 2026.

Peachcroft and Lodge Hill: two sets of lights for six weeks

Oxfordshire County Council warned drivers on 22 September that two schemes would run side by side for around six weeks, starting on Monday 28 September:

• Peachcroft roundabout, where the A4183 meets Dunmore Road and Twelve Acre Drive: roadworks by the housebuilder David Wilson Homes, controlled by temporary traffic lights.
• A4183 at Lodge Hill: two-way temporary lights between the entrance to the Lodge Hill garage and the start of the new south roundabout, part of the council’s A34 junction scheme.

The two sites are linked by the same stretch of the A4183. The council says it would not normally let two schemes this close run at once. Councillor Liz Leffman, its cabinet member for highways, called these “exceptional circumstances” and said running them together “will reduce the overall duration of the disruption”.

The council’s Lodge Hill page says the Lodge Hill lights run 24 hours a day, and are manually controlled from 7am to 7pm. The southbound bus stop has moved about 120 metres further south, opposite the Lodge Hill garage entrance. The council’s advice is plain: “increased delay and congestion in the area is likely”.

The A34 at night this week

National Highways’ seven-day closure report, updated at 3.30pm on 28 September for the week to Sunday 4 October, lists these closures near Abingdon. All run 9pm to 6am.

Southbound, the diversion runs through Abingdon. The county council’s Lodge Hill page says the closures are to replace the bridge parapet on the western side of the A4183 overbridge, resurface the A34 southbound and tie in the new on slip, with the signed diversion “via the A4183 and through Abingdon”. The sources do not quite agree on the last night:

• National Highways’ report lists four nights, the last ending at 6am on Friday 2 October.
• The council’s Lodge Hill page lists “Monday 28 - Friday 2 October”.
• The council’s 22 September news release describes the series as running from 21 September to 5 October.

If you drive south late on Friday, check the report on the day.

Northbound, the closures run every night this week, weekend included. National Highways’ South East maintenance schemes page says the Marcham to Lodge Hill stretch can close overnight “up to seven nights a week” until 30 October 2026, for barrier work. Its signed diversion follows Marcham Road, Colwell Drive, Copenhagen Drive and Dunmore Road, then the A4183 to Lodge Hill. That puts late-night traffic through the Peachcroft lights.

The A34 weekend closure south of Abingdon, 2 to 5 October

The A34 southbound between Milton and Chilton closes at night over the coming weekend, for resurfacing tied to the new Harwell layby. National Highways’ report gives these times:

• Friday 2 October: 8.30pm to 7am.
• Saturday 3 October: 8pm to 8am.
• Sunday 4 October: 9pm to 6am on Monday 5 October.

By day on the Saturday and Sunday, the council’s Lodge Hill page says only lane one is shut, with a 50mph limit, from 6am to 9pm. The diversion is to leave the A34 at Milton, follow the A4130 towards Steventon and Harwell, and rejoin the A34 southbound at Chilton. National Highways’ order also holds 23 October in reserve.

The A4183 speed limit has changed permanently

Two separate speed limits now apply on the Abingdon to Oxford road, and only one of them is temporary.

On 7 September the county council made the Kennington and South Hinksey (Speed Limits) (No.2) Order 2026, which came into force on 14 September. It introduces a 40mph limit on the A4183 Oxford Road in its entirety, replacing the previous 50mph, from the Dunmore Road and Twelve Acre Drive roundabout at Abingdon, through Bagley Wood, to the existing 40mph south of Hinksey Hill. The council made it in support of the Lodge Hill scheme, and the scheme’s own page lists the drop from 50mph to 40mph as one of the things being delivered.

Inside the works themselves the limit is lower again. Abingdon Town Council’s road closures page says a 30mph limit is in force on the A4183 between Sugworth Lane and the Lodge Hill garage, with signs in place.

Other roads closed or restricted now

Each of these comes from an Oxfordshire County Council order published in full on the Public Notice Portal, from Abingdon Town Council’s road closures page, or from the council’s own scheme pages.

Three of those close an open question from earlier editions of this page. We listed Hilliat Fields and Mill Lane as proposed on 1 September, then as unconfirmed when no notice carried them. The county council’s notice of 23 September now does. Hampden Road in Wantage and the East Hendred water main closure are still missing from every notice we can read, so treat both as unconfirmed.

For the A415 limits and why they are there, see our Clifton Hampden report.

Two bus effects worth knowing. Oxford Bus Company’s service updates page says the X15 diverts via Southmoor and Kingston Bagpuize on Oxford-bound journeys while the A420 is shut at night, until 30 September. The 67 between Faringdon and Wantage carries two notices: “major delays” from the Coxwell works, listed until 6 October, and from 28 September to 16 April 2027 the 07:55 departure cannot serve the stops along Coxwell Road. The operator points passengers to the Stagecoach 66 shuttle instead.

A lorry ban proposed for the A4183 at Kennington

Oxfordshire County Council has proposed a 7.5 tonne weight limit for goods vehicles on two roads, as a result of the Lodge Hill junction. Its notice on the Public Notice Portal names:

• A4183 Oxford Road, Kennington, from Foxcombe Road and Hinksey Hill to the roundabout at the northern Lodge Hill slip roads.
• Hinksey Hill, South Hinksey, from the Hinksey Hill Interchange roundabout to Foxcombe Road.

Deliveries to premises on those roads, the emergency services and utility works would be exempt. This is a proposal, not a made order. Objections can be sent via Let’s Talk Oxfordshire until 23 October 2026.

Botley Road has reopened

Botley Road, the main western approach into central Oxford, reopened on Sunday 20 September 2026 after being shut at the railway bridge since April 2023 for Network Rail’s Oxford station rebuild.

Oxfordshire County Council’s reopening page carries the detail that matters if you have not driven it since 2023:

• The new bridge has a 4.4 metre height clearance, signed out as far as the ring road.
• All buses using Botley Road now run through to Oxford city centre, instead of terminating either side of the bridge.
• Two four-metre walkways run under the bridge, one each side. The walkways are two-way; the cycleways are one-way, so cycle into town on the northern side and out of town on the southern side.
• A new footbridge links Becket Street car park to the front of Oxford station.

Two jobs nearby are not finished. Thames Water is still repairing its mains pipe at Osney Bridge on Botley Road, nights only, 8pm to 6am with a lane closure, and no completion date has been published. Separately, the council closed the Swan Street footbridge over Osney Stream on 24 September after its inspectors raised safety concerns. The walking diversion runs from West Street to Botley Road and back round to Ferry Hinksey Road, which the council says adds about 10 minutes. No reopening date has been set.

The reopening also triggered the biggest change to Vale bus services in years, on the same day. Our bus changes report has the route-by-route detail.

Oxford’s traffic filters started on 28 September

Oxfordshire County Council’s traffic filter trial replaced the temporary congestion charge on Monday 28 September.

What changed:

• You can no longer pay £5 to drive through a filter. Cars need a permit; every other type of vehicle can pass at all times.
• Vale residents get 25 day passes a year. Residents inside the Oxford permit area get 100. Existing permits transferred automatically.
• Every part of Oxford can be reached without a filter, now Botley Road is open, though the council says “you may need to take an alternative route”.
• The penalty is £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days. For the first six months, a first contravention brings a warning rather than a fine.

The six filters and their hours are unchanged:

• Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way: Monday to Saturday, 7am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm.
• Hythe Bridge Street, St Cross Road, St Clement’s Street and Thames Street: every day, 7am to 7pm.

You can have your say. The council’s consultation on the trial is open until 28 March 2027, online at Let’s Talk Oxfordshire or on paper at County Hall and Oxfordshire libraries. Our permits explainer covers the day passes in detail.

Coming up: the next few weeks

These are booked in orders and notices. Items marked proposed are at the stage before an order is made, so treat them as intentions.

• A34 Milton to Chilton, southbound: night closures 2 to 5 October, see above.
• Abingdon Michaelmas Fair, 4 to 7 October: from 7am on Sunday 4 October to 9am on Wednesday 7 October, the Market Place, High Street, The Square and West St Helen Street close. Ock Street and Stratton Way close from noon to midnight on fair days. Lorries over 7.5 tonnes are barred from the town centre, and the Stratton Way ANPR camera is switched off so traffic can turn right into Bath Street. Our fair guide has the full list.
• Goosey Lane, Goosey, near Faringdon: proposed closure 22 to 23 October, 9.30am to 3.30pm, for drainage works. Diversion via Cow Lane, Circourt Road and the A417.
• Church Street and School Road, West Hanney: proposed closure 2 to 3 November for drainage works, then Church Street again from 9 to 20 November.
• Oxford Road roundabout, Abingdon: proposed overnight closure, northbound and southbound, from 8pm on 13 November to 6am on 23 November, for resurfacing by David Wilson Homes.
• Unnamed road at Besselsleigh, from Besselsleigh Road to the A420: proposed closure 23 to 27 November, 9.30am to 3.30pm, for drainage works.
• Summertown, East Hanney (outside Downsview): proposed closure 30 November to 2 December, 9.30am to 3.30pm, for drainage works. Diversion via Main Street and Oxford Road.
• Milton Hill, the A4130 between Milton Interchange and Abingdon Road, and Steventon Hill: proposed full closure from 8pm on 1 December to 6am on 12 December, for resurfacing as part of the Steventon Lights scheme. Milton Hill is diverted via the A34, the A4185 Newbury Road and the A4130 Abingdon Road.

Stage 6 of Lodge Hill, this winter, brings overnight closures of the A4183 from 8pm to 6am for final surfacing, and then the new junction opens.

A34 Lodge Hill: the junction being finished this winter

The A34 junction at Lodge Hill has only ever had north-facing slip roads. Oxfordshire County Council is building south-facing slips, with traffic calming on local roads and an upgraded southbound layby at Harwell. Balfour Beatty is the contractor, and Homes England’s infrastructure fund is among the funders.

Main construction began on 3 September 2025. The council’s page puts the scheme in stage 4 (summer and autumn 2026): widening of the A4183 southbound, realignment of the northbound on slip and work on both new roundabouts, with temporary signals for some jobs. The new junction is due to open in winter 2026. Most work runs 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with nothing on Sundays or public holidays.

Where to check what is shut today

• National Highways road closure report for A34 closures, night by night. The A34 is a National Highways road, not a county one.
• one.network is the national roadworks map and carries Oxfordshire County Council’s permits.
• Oxfordshire County Council roadworks for the county’s own schemes, including Lodge Hill.
• Abingdon Town Council road closures lists closures booked inside the town with their reference numbers.

Parking in Abingdon: what it costs in 2026

Vale of White Horse District Council froze car park fees for 2026/27 at its cabinet meeting in February 2026, so the tariffs set on 1 April 2025 still apply. There are two price scales, and the difference between them over a working day is £2.

Charging periods are Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm in all pay and display car parks. Rye Farm, Hales Meadow and Abbey Close also charge on Sundays, 10am to 5pm. The first hour is free everywhere.

The free first hour is worth knowing if you are heading to the Market Place. It covers the County Hall Museum and most of the town-centre attractions comfortably.

The Charter multi-storey is short stay only, up to three hours, and only levels 1 and 2 are on that tariff. If your car is removed from it, the vehicle release fee is £55.

If you park all day for work, buy a permit rather than a ticket. Audlett Drive and Rye Farm annual permits are £780, or £65 a month. The town-centre permit covering Abbey Close, Cattle Market and West St Helen Street is £1,092 a year, or £91 a month. Over 230 working days, the £780 permit works out at about £3.39 a day against £5 on the ticket machine.

The same two scales run in Wantage (Portway and the Mill Street Undercroft on the higher scale, Limborough Road A and B on the lower) and in Faringdon, where Gloucester Street is on the higher scale and Southampton Street gives two hours free before charging £3 for three.

Driving into Oxford: use Redbridge, and buy the £3 ticket

The nearest park and ride to Abingdon is Redbridge, on Old Abingdon Road, OX1 4XG, straight up the A4144 at the end of the A34 run. It has 1,070 bays, 20 of them accessible, and Oxford Bus Company’s service 300 runs into the city centre.

The ticket changed on 17 August 2026. Free park and ride bus travel has ended. In its place, a £3 combined ticket covers up to 16 hours of parking plus return bus travel into Oxford for up to five people of any age.

The details that catch people out:

• Buy it at the car park machine or on the RingGo app, and select the Parking & Bus option for £3. It is not applied automatically.
• It is valid on any Stagecoach, Oxford Bus Company or Thames Travel bus stopping inside a park and ride site, not only the named park and ride services.
• It is not valid on Oxford Bus Company’s Airline services or the Oxford Tube.
• It is not valid for journeys away from Oxford. You cannot use it to travel from Redbridge to Abingdon.
• It is available at Redbridge, Pear Tree, Seacourt, Thornhill and Oxford Parkway.

Parking on its own is free for the first hour, then £2.50 for up to 16 hours, £4.50 for 16 to 24 hours, £8.50 for 24 to 48 hours and £12.50 for 48 to 72 hours. For a family of five the £3 ticket is a straight saving. For a lone commuter it is 50p more than parking alone used to cost.

If your journey ends in London rather than Oxford, the sums are different again. The three stations that serve Abingdon, their journey times and the £6,692 season ticket are on our trains to London page.

Frequently asked questions

Why are there traffic lights on the Oxford Road in Abingdon?

Two schemes are running at once on the A4183. David Wilson Homes is working at the Peachcroft roundabout, and the county council has two-way lights at Lodge Hill for its A34 junction. Both started on or before 28 September, and the council expects them to overlap for about six weeks.

Is the A34 closed near Abingdon?

At night, yes, in both directions this week. National Highways lists the A34 southbound between Hinksey Hill and Marcham closed 9pm to 6am on the nights of 28 September to 1 October, with the diversion through Abingdon. The A34 northbound between Marcham and Abingdon closes 9pm to 6am every night to 4 October, under a scheme running until 30 October 2026. Both directions are open as normal during the day.

What is the A34 northbound diversion at Abingdon?

When the A34 northbound is shut between Marcham and Lodge Hill, the signed diversion runs along Marcham Road, Colwell Drive, Copenhagen Drive and Dunmore Road, then the A4183 back to the A34 at Lodge Hill.

Is the A34 closed this weekend?

Southbound between Milton and Chilton, at night. National Highways lists it closed from 8.30pm on Friday 2 October to 7am on Saturday, 8pm on Saturday to 8am on Sunday, and 9pm on Sunday to 6am on Monday 5 October. By day on the Saturday and Sunday only lane one is shut, with a 50mph limit. The diversion uses the A4130 through Steventon and Harwell.

Is Botley Road open?

Yes. It reopened on Sunday 20 September 2026, after closing at the railway bridge in April 2023. Thames Water is still working on its mains at Osney Bridge, nights only from 8pm to 6am with a lane closure, and no finish date has been published.

Can I still pay to drive through Oxford’s traffic filters?

No. The traffic filter trial replaced the temporary congestion charge on 28 September, and the £5 payment option has gone. Cars need a permit. Residents of the Vale and the rest of Oxfordshire get 25 day passes a year, against 100 for residents inside the Oxford permit area.

How much is parking in Abingdon?

The first hour is free in every council car park. After that it is £2 for two hours in Abbey Close, Cattle Market, Civic and West St Helen Street, or £1.50 in Audlett Drive, Rye Farm and Hales Meadow. All day costs £7 on the first scale and £5 on the second. Fees are frozen for 2026/27.

Is Sunday parking free in Abingdon?

In most council car parks, yes. Charging periods run Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm. The exceptions are Rye Farm, Hales Meadow and Abbey Close, which also charge on Sundays from 10am to 5pm.

Sources

• Oxfordshire County Council: drivers warned of delays ahead of Abingdon roadworks, 22 September 2026, for the Peachcroft and Lodge Hill overlap, its six-week length, the 28 September start and Cllr Leffman’s comments.
• Oxfordshire County Council: A34 Lodge Hill Interchange, read 29 September 2026, for the southbound night closures, their purpose and diversion, the A4183 lights and their hours, the bus stop move, the Milton to Chilton weekend and the construction stages.
• National Highways seven-day road closure report, the spreadsheet updated 28 September 2026 for 28 September to 4 October, for every A34 night closure listed above.
• National Highways South East maintenance schemes, for the A34 Marcham to Lodge Hill scheme, its 30 October end date and the signed diversion.
• National Highways notice NH/SE/2026/A34/74 on the Public Notice Portal, for the 23 October standby date.
• Oxfordshire County Council notices on the Public Notice Portal: those of 23 and 24 September 2026 for Springfield Drive (case 150), Hilliat Fields (case 162), Mill Lane, East Hendred (case 166), Summertown, East Hanney (case 716) and the proposed 7.5 tonne limit at Kennington and South Hinksey; and those read on 22 September for the permanent A4183 40mph limit (CM/12.6.263/P0242), Elizabeth Avenue (T18074/MR), Gibson Close (case 148), Plumbe Court and Fawley Close, Wantage (cases 246 and 247), the A420 Hinton Waldrist and Coxwell orders, the Culham and Appleford paths, Goosey Lane, West Hanney, Besselsleigh, the Steventon Lights closures and the Michaelmas Fair order.
• Abingdon Town Council road closures, read 29 September 2026, for Abbott Road and Gibson Close, and the 30mph limit between Sugworth Lane and the Lodge Hill garage.
• Oxfordshire County Council: reopening of Botley Road, for the reopening, the bridge, walkways and footbridge, and the Thames Water night works at Osney Bridge.
• Oxfordshire County Council: Osney Island footbridge closed, 24 September 2026.
• Oxford Bus Company service updates, read 29 September 2026, for the X15 diversion and the two notices on the 67.
• Oxfordshire County Council: traffic filter trial starts (25 September 2026), give your feedback (28 September 2026) and about traffic filters, for the start, permits, penalties, filter hours and the consultation.
• Vale of White Horse notice of variation of car park charges for the statutory tariff tables, and the council’s car parks page and its February 2026 announcement that fees are frozen for 2026/27.
• Oxfordshire County Council: Redbridge park and ride and the combined park and ride ticket for bay counts, tariffs and the £3 ticket that replaced free bus travel on 17 August 2026.

Roadworks dates move. Everything above was checked against the source notices on 29 September 2026; confirm on the National Highways report or one.network before relying on a date.