SMS roadworks alert to help Oxfordshire drivers

The Highways Agency is using a text message service to keep drivers up-to-date with the progress of roadworks on the A34 in Oxfordshire.

The new text messaging service will provide motorists with the most recent information about the roadworks, with the work expected to take 24 weeks.

Every week, drivers and local businesses that have signed up will get advance information about changes to the works to help them plan their journeys.

There will be eight weekends of work, when the A34 has to be reduced from two lanes to one in each direction. The text messaging service will inform drivers up to eight days in advance.

People can subscribe to the service for a one-off charge of £3 and will receive a text message every Thursday or Friday throughout the 24 weeks of the scheme, with details of the week ahead.

The Highways Agency is also offering a free email service.

Highways Agency project sponsor Peter Scott said in a statement: "We are responding to feedback about our schemes from people who said they would like to have a text message service to alert them to any changes to the traffic management and lane closures so that they could plan their journeys better."

But he added: "We would like to remind people that they should not use their mobile phones while driving."