Wantage Eastern Link Road

About the improvements

Known officially as King Alfred Way, the new road extends between the A417 to the east of Wantage (West Locking junction) and the A338 to the north of Wantage (Mabley Way/A338 Roundabout). It also provides the Kingsgrove housing development with direct access to both the A338 and A417 carriageways.

Why did we invest here?

Wantage and the surrounding area has seen significant growth in the delivery of new homes, with up to 1,500 homes currently being delivered at the Kingsgrove housing development.

The new link will not only provide direct benefits to the Kingsgrove development but should also result in benefits to the wider area, such as:

• Improved air quality in central Wantage by reducing traffic congestion
• Provide essential relief to Wantage town centre and surrounding road junctions by creating an alternative ‘bypass’ route
• Improvements to the pedestrian and cycle environment, by providing high-quality pedestrian/cycle facilities

What was delivered?

King Alfred Way comprises three sections. Sections one and two were delivered and funded by the housing developer, St Modwen. Section three was constructed by Galliford Try on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council. The entire route operates under a 40mph speed limit. 

Section one links to Reading Road (shown in red), section two links to the A338 Grove Road (shown in orange) and section three is the middle section (shown in green).

The new link includes a 3m wide shared footway/cycleway, together with crossing facilities for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. Now that the route is open to traffic, bus operators will provide more details on which future bus services may potentially use the route.

Contact us

If you would like to know more, you can contact us via email: welr3project@oxfordshire.gov.uk