Story thread · 3 reports / 2 sources

Oxfordshire railway bridge cost more than London Eye and twice as long to build

gbnews.com · 10h · first reportShare

A road in Oxford finally reopened after being shut for approximately 41 months with the project surpassing the cost of the London Eye. The scheme to replace the Botley Road rail bridge and redesign the surrounding layout cost nearly £90million more than the London landmark, which was erected in just 14 months for the equivalent of £150million in today's money. Costs surged by 47 per cent from an original budget of £161million to a whopping £237.4million, despite the project actually being scaled back, with a planned new platform and western station entrance still awaiting funding. The road had been closed since April 2023 as part of Network Rail's wider Oxford station upgrade programme. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Construction was originally supposed to wrap up by October 2024, but a succession of unforeseen engineering obstacles pushed the timeline far beyond initial estimates. Among the most significant setbacks was the unearthing of a Victorian brick arch hidden beneath the roa