The B4445 between Chinnor and Thame is shut around the clock from 21 September to 8 October. The resurfacing is a low-carbon trial cutting 30 tonnes of CO2.
The B4445 between Chinnor and Thame closes from today for a resurfacing scheme that runs into October. Oxfordshire County Council’s temporary traffic order came into force on Monday 21 September and anticipates the work taking until 8 October.
The order is a 24 hour daily closure. It stops any vehicle using the stretch of the B4445 from the Chinnor Road junction to the entrance to Waterlands Farm Bungalow, which sits on the road at Emmington, between the two towns.
Emergency vehicles, the works traffic, and access to property are exempt. The order says access will be maintained for cyclists and pedestrians throughout.
The dates to plan around
The county council’s announcement, published on Friday afternoon, splits the work into three phases:
- Monday 21 to Friday 25 September: verge clearance, drainage repairs and preparation for resurfacing
- Monday 28 September to Friday 2 October: carriageway resurfacing and replacement of the road markings
- Monday 5 to Wednesday 7 October: drainage improvements completed and verges reinstated
The announcement says the road “will be reopened whenever it is safe to do so outside these periods”, and that staff will be at either end of the closure to help residents, pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.
Read the two documents together and they do not say quite the same thing. The traffic order authorises a continuous 24 hour closure from 21 September, and gives 8 October as the anticipated completion date. The announcement describes three separate weeks with reopening in between. The practical reading is to treat the road as shut for the whole period and follow the signs on the day, rather than assuming the weekend of 26 and 27 September is clear.
The signed diversion is a long way round
The order lists the alternative route as Thame Road, Station Road, Oakley Road, Chinnor Road, the A40 London Road, the B4012, Thame Park Road, Wenman Road, Howland Road, “Tewersley Road” and Chinnor Road, and the same in reverse.
One of those names looks like a slip in the order. There is no Tewersley Road in the area. There is a Towersey Road in Thame, which runs east from the town towards Towersey and lines up with the rest of the route.
Signs on the ground are the thing to follow. The council says a signed diversion will be in place throughout.
Why this particular road
The scheme is a trial. The council says the work will use five low carbon techniques together, and expects to cut embodied carbon by more than 30 tonnes of CO2 equivalent against conventional resurfacing.
The five, as the council lists them:
- Breedon’s ACLA net zero binder course, a lower carbon asphalt mixed specifically for this scheme, which is expected to deliver the largest single saving
- Shell Cariphalte Ultra Carbon Sink polymer modified bitumen
- thermal joint heating, to improve the quality and life of the joints in the asphalt
- cold applied MMA road markings, laid by Wilson & Scott Highways, in place of conventional thermoplastic
- a biodiversity programme creating habitat features from materials won on site
Solar powered welfare cabins and traffic management equipment are being supplied by TSM Ltd, and the subcontractors Breedon and DJT are using electric plant.
Councillor Liz Leffman, the county council’s cabinet member for highways construction and repairs, said the trial is “about more than carbon reduction alone”, and that the council is “also exploring how these technologies can improve durability, reduce future maintenance requirements and support better long-term outcomes for Oxfordshire’s road network”.
Richard Lovewell, business director at the council’s highways contractor M Group, said the scheme combines materials, plant, welfare cabins and traffic management in one project so that the alliance can “evaluate how they perform together in real-world conditions”.
What it means for you
If you drive between Chinnor and Thame, budget extra time from this morning. The closed section is on the direct route, and the signed alternative runs through Thame and the A40 rather than around the closure.
If you live on the closed stretch, you still have access. The order exempts access to property, and the council says staff will be stationed at both ends.
If you cycle or walk it, the order says the route stays open to you. That is written into the order itself, not just the announcement.
Chinnor has a second closure booked for November. A separate order covers Sydenham Road, Sydenham, outside the White House, from 24 to 28 November for a new water connection by Network Plus, with a diversion via Sydenham Road, the B4445, the B4009 and Stert Road.
Chinnor sits about 11 miles north of Henley-on-Thames as the crow flies, and about four miles from Thame. All three are in South Oxfordshire. We keep the district’s live closures on Henley roadworks and travel, and everything else the district council is deciding on our Henley planning page.
Sources
- Chinnor to pilot low-carbon approach to road resurfacing, Oxfordshire County Council, 18 September 2026, for the three phases, the five techniques, the 30 tonnes of CO2 equivalent figure, the contractors and the quotations from Councillor Liz Leffman and Richard Lovewell.
- Oxfordshire County Council notice of temporary traffic order, “Chinnor to Thame Road, B4445”, made 14 September 2026 and in force from 21 September 2026, published on the Public Notice Portal, for the 24 hour closure, the extent from the Chinnor Road junction to the entrance to Waterlands Farm Bungalow, the exemptions, the pedestrian and cycle access, the diversion route and the 8 October anticipated completion date.
- Oxfordshire County Council notice of intent for a temporary road closure at Sydenham Road, Sydenham, case reference 704, published on the Public Notice Portal, for the November dates and diversion.
- OpenStreetMap, for the location of Waterlands Farm on the B4445 at Emmington and of Towersey Road in Thame.
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