A34 Overnight Closure this weekend 

• The A34 northbound will be closed overnight between Chilton and Milton (towards Oxford) on the 28 March from 9pm to 5am. The signed diversion will be directly off at Chilton on the A4185, through Rowstock roundabout A4130 and back on to the A34 at the Milton interchange northbound slip.
   
•  The A34 southbound will be closed overnight between Marcham and Milton (towards Newbury) on the 29 March from 9pm to 5am. The signed diversion begins at Botley Interchange and follows the road to Wantage. There the route takes the A4130 and re-joins the A34 at Milton southbound on slip. The route is longer than usual, because it has to accommodate HGVs, that cannot use alternative routes. 

  These temporary closures are necessary to allow some changes to be made to the current traffic management scheme.

What work is happening at the moment?

Over 60 concrete columns, known as piles, have been drilled and concreted in the ground to help form the foundation of the new bridge under the A34.

The next stage will see the protection of the running lanes of the A34 adjacent to the bridge work by using a method known as sheet piling. Deep trenches will be cut for the sheet piles that will support the A34 carriageway. This sheet piling work will last for one week, after which we will start excavation to allow construction of the beams that will support the new bridge deck.

On the A4130, approaching the Milton Interchange from the Steventon direction, work continues to widen the road and improve the capacity of the slip road up onto the A34. Work will start shortly on installing kerbs for the new carriageway and the current coned off area with be made longer to accommodate this work.

It is expected this will work will take up to three weeks and the traffic management will remain in place 24 hours, to protect the travelling public from unfinished drops and edges. Work is well underway on widening the footpath for pedestrians walking from Milton Park to the Milton Interchange.

The foundation material is being laid in layers and compacted before adding the next layer, building the embankment up to match the existing footpath. The footpath remains open while this work takes place.

General traffic management

Throughout the construction work two lanes remain open in each direction and motorists are reminded to stay in lane and avoid last minute lane changes. Two lanes are also open on the A4130 roundabout. Both lanes on the A34 southbound can be used to continue on the A34. Please be aware average speed cameras are in use and speed limits should be followed at all times.

• Traffic travelling south (towards Newbury) on the A34 is subject to a 30mph speed limit through the work. The left hand lane is diverted down the slip road, around the A4130 roundabout and back up to the A34. Traffic shows that almost 50% of southbound traffic leaves the A34 at this point normally.
   
• Traffic heading north (towards Oxford) on the A34 is subject to a 40mph speed limit within narrowed lanes.

We continue to monitor and actively manage the traffic signals to mitigate any disruption approaching the junction.

Milton services open as usual

While the work continues the local businesses on the A4130 at Milton services, McDonalds, BP Connect, Premier Inn, the Applecart Restaurant, Costa Coffee and Ridgeway Volkswagen all remain open as usual.