Abingdon Road was closed in both directions by police at 6.30am this morning, (Wednesday, November 27) due to flooding.

However, an hour later county councillor Brad Baines announced that the road closure was abandoned due to cars continuing to drive through the flooded road.

The same road was also closed in January due to severe flooding.

READ MORE: Abingdon Road Oxford hit with major flooding

City councillor Anna Railton, who represents Hinksey Park ward, said it was frustrating to see a “ridiculous number of cars” continuing to drive through the road.

She said: “The flood response in January was pretty good except for the management of Abingdon Road, and the same thing has happened again.

“One of the key takeaways from January is that the management of closing Abingdon Road needs to be way slicker, and that was not the case.

“I went to the bottom of Abingdon Road at 6.30am, and by the time I got back down at 7.30am it was complete carnage.

“A ridiculous number of cars are still driving through Abingdon Road, despite the police closure sign.

“It’s super frustrating because that’s exactly what went wrong in January.”

County Councillor Brad Baines, who represents the Isis ward, said that commuters had faced significant confusion after a number of cars passed through Abingdon Road, despite a police closure.

He said: “I think residents would have appreciated more information in advance as the rain was coming last night.

“Confusion about what people can expect when it floods does not help. We need better information sharing.”

He added that the plans made for Abingdon Road since the flooding in January were working well, and that there were not as many sewage issues in south Oxford since then.

Fire engines arrived at the scene at 8.30am to pump the water from the road, and the road was temporarily closed at 9am.

Oxford City Council announced that motorists could pass through the northbound lane and through bus lanes at 12.40pm.

The city council confirmed that Abingdon Road has fully reopened as of around 3pm, but advised motorists move slowly and use other routes where possible.

Abingdon Road has now reopened, however, traffic is moving very slowly and people may still wish to find alternative routes. Barriers are in place as workers remain onsite. Thank you to the Fire Service for their efforts. The High Street bus gate remains open for now. pic.twitter.com/Y0RVeEEm0s

— Oxford City Council (@OxfordCity) November 27, 2024

Cherwell School announced a partial school closure on Wednesday, which said that pupils in Years 8 and 9 would have to stay at home due to the flooding.

Ms Railton added that she felt “cautiously optimistic” about the situation, and that houses would not be flooded.

“We think the river levels at the River Thames and the River Cherwell have peaked and nobody’s house will flood, which is good news.

“I think we are cautiously optimistic, but we have to wait and see.”