Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

The Project

This project replaced the original Wolvercote Viaduct on the A34 at Oxford.

The A34 is a strategic route between the Midlands and the south coast. The Wolvercote Viaduct carries the A34 dual two lane carriageway trunk road (Oxford Western Bypass) over the River Thames flood plain, the Oxford to Birmingham main line railway, the Oxford canal and the A40 Oxford to Cheltenham road.

The original viaduct was built in the early 1960's. Mainly because of water leaking through the deck joints, the viaduct had suffered extensive deterioration which required significant maintenance to ensure it remained safe. A Whole Life Costing Analysis concluded that it would offer better value for money to replace the viaduct.

We invited tenders in February 2006 and in July of that year Costain Limited, with designer Jacobs, were appointed under the Agency's Early Contractor Involvement initiative to progress the scheme through planning and construction.

We replaced the A34 Wolvercote Viaduct whilst ensuring that we minimised disruption to the travelling public. During construction a new viaduct was built to the south-east - i.e. alongside the southbound carriageway - of the existing viaduct, slightly nearer to Lower Wolvercote and Oxford, which enabled traffic to continue using two lanes in each direction throughout the construction period. Passenger trains using the main Oxford to Birmingham railway line were unaffected by the works. Similarly traffic at peak times on the A40 were also unaffected.

Now built, the new viaduct is in the same position and at the same height as the original viaduct and continues to have two lanes in each direction on a slightly wider structure.

What Happens Next 

The area is being re-landscaped and fenced. This will be completed by the end of 2011.