A sinkhole that opened up in a major A-road could take months to repair.

The hole appeared in the A361 near Banbury yesterday (Monday December 2), forcing the road to close.

The sinkhole is adjacent to an Oxfordshire County Council culvert which carries a channel of the River Cherwell beneath the A361, just north of Wardington.

Water levels are still high to the top of the culvert so it cannot be properly inspected, but appears to be intact, said the council.

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A spokesperson said: "It is likely that there is scour to the bed of the culvert which has undermined the foundation, but not caused its collapse.(Image: Mike Fielding)

"As the sinkhole is linked to the structure it is likely to take several weeks or months to fix."

They added: "Water levels are still high to the top of the culvert so it cannot be properly inspected, but appears to be intact.

"We have visited the site and spoken to the adjacent farmers about clearing out the watercourse/ditch either side which appears to be contributing to the water levels staying high in the structure.

"Our contractor has also been contacted for assistance.

"The water needs to be removed, the culvert inspected/repaired and the sinkhole filled in to enable the road to be reopened.

"We will need to check if any utilities might be affected, which may slow down any repair."

Yesterday's closure of the A361 brought delays and congestion to neighbouring villages.

Bus operator Stagecoach warned passengers today that its 200 bus was unable to serve Upper Wardington and Wardington "until further notice" because of a road closure between Wardington and Chipping Warden.

"This is due to highways closing road because of a sinkhole," said Stagecoach.

The current suggested alternative route is the A423 Southam Rd to A425 Daventry Road and vice versa - a detour of some 35 miles for HGVs needing to avoid country lanes.

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It is likely to lead to an increase in traffic through neighbouring villages of Appletree, Culworth, Chacombe trying to get to and from Banbury and the M40.

A council spokesperson said: "As this is an emergency road closure, we have only closed the road and set up the diversion below at this stage.

"Any future repair plans will include more new diversionary routes."​

HS2 has a works site used by construction traffic at Chipping Warden half a mile away.

An HS2 spokesperson said the county council was in a much better position to explain what may have caused it.