Key bus routes between Oxford and Abingdon have been forced onto an extended eight-week diversion, missing out the A34 completely. Thames Travel and Oxford Bus Company services X2 and X3 began using a replacement route via Oxford Road and Hinksey Hill Interchange on 6 July, and the operators now confirm that the disruption will last until Friday, 27 August 2026.
The diversion follows the closure of the Lodge Hill slip road, part of the ongoing £36 million A34 Lodge Hill Interchange improvement scheme. Buses are mixing with general traffic on the diversion, prompting a warning that passengers should expect delays. The Abingdon, Lodge Hill bus stops are not being served at all during this period. Depending on congestion, some services may also divert via Radley and Kennington on an ad-hoc basis.
The Lodge Hill project, being delivered by Oxfordshire County Council and contractor Balfour Beatty, is adding new south-facing slip roads to create a dumbbell interchange. The southbound off-slip closed at midnight on 6 July for roughly four weeks while construction crews tie the existing slip road into a new south roundabout. Narrow lanes and speed restrictions on the A34 southbound carriageway will stay in place until August. The wider scheme, which began main construction in September 2025, aims to unlock more than 1,000 homes in Abingdon by 2031 and improve access to the Science Vale employment area.
The Milton Heights Turn bus stop also remains out of use due to separate construction work, affecting the X2, NX2, ST1, BB1, X2S, X24 and X36 services on journeys towards Didcot and Harwell Campus.
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