A JUNCTION on the A34 needs to be finished as soon as possible, a local MP has said.

Layla Moran, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, urging him to work with Highways England and Oxfordshire County Council to 'bring forward the completion date' of the Lodge Hill diamond junction on the A34 to before 2022.

According to Ms Moran, work on the junction has been the subject of continuous delays since funding was secured in 2017, with county council figures at that time indicating the scheme could be completed by 2020.

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In an answer to a parliamentary question asked by Ms Moran last week, minister of state for transport George Freeman said the project might be complete in early 2022.

In October 2019, the Oxford West and Abingdon MP wrote to Grant Shapps urging a review of the situation, following news that there had been a lack of progress in the detailed assessment of the site.

Oxford Mail:

Layla Moran.

Ms Moran said: “Lodge Hill has suffered delay after delay, and so many of my constituents are rightly exasperated at this situation.

“First it was 2020, and now it’s ‘early 2022’. We not only need a firm deadline by which the interchange should be delivered, but for the Department for Transport, the county council and Highways England to work collaboratively to work for completion before 2022."

“The residents of Abingdon and users of the A34 deserve better than this situation, and to know when they can expect the diamond junction at Lodge Hill to finally appear.

“I look forward to hearing from the government in due course, and for Lodge Hill to finally become a reality.”

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The MP raised the issue in her maiden speech in Parliament in 2017 and said Lodge Hill 'came up time and time again on the doorstep' during the recent General Election.

The Lodge Hill junction was also a popular point of contention for Ms Moran's rivals during the General Election campaign.

Grant Shapps visited Oxfordshire in November, following an invitation from the local Conservative candidate at the time, James Fredrickson, to consider reviewing the planned Oxford to Cambridge Expressway.

During the visit, he also heard about concerns over the need for a diamond junction at Lodge Hill.