Preparatory works on Oxford Street are entering their final week before almost 1km of the West End route becomes traffic-free, with Transport for London now moving through the last road-layout and access changes ahead of Monday 26 October. The first section runs between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street, through the core retail area around Oxford Circus. TfL says works are already under way across Oxford Street, Regent Street, Bond Street and Great Portland Street, involving temporary closures, lane restrictions, diversions and changes to parking arrangements, with much of the work being carried out overnight to limit disruption.
London Construction Magazine photographed Oxford Street during the week before the changeover, creating an original visual record of the street immediately ahead of the new traffic regime. The current activity represents preparation and traffic-management works rather than completion of the permanent public-realm scheme, which sits within a much longer capital programme extending to 2030–31.
Oxford Street photographed on October 2026, ten days before the first section is due to become traffic-free. Photo: London Construction Magazine.
Final Traffic Changes Begin Before 26 October
TfL's programme becomes more intensive from the evening of 19 October, when access from James Street to Oxford Street and from Oxford Street into Gilbert Street is due to close permanently. Gilbert Street will become two-way between Oxford Street and Brook Street, while further temporary closures, turning restrictions and signed diversions will remain in place as the surrounding road network is prepared for the new arrangement.
Bus changes begin from 01:00 on 24 October, including routes 7, N7, 94, N113 and N137 terminating at Marble Arch, alongside changes to stops and routing for a wider group of services. From 20:00 on 25 October, traffic will be diverted away from Oxford Street between Portman Street and Winsley Street before the permanent traffic-free section is reduced to the Orchard Street-to-Great Portland Street limits the following morning.
Once the restrictions take effect, motor vehicles, taxis, private hire vehicles, cycles, scooters and pedicabs will be excluded from the traffic-free section. Emergency vehicles retain access at all times, while delivery and servicing vehicles will be permitted between midnight and 07:00.
Those arrangements reinforce the construction and logistics implications already examined in LCM's September analysis of the Oxford Street traffic-free scheme. Contractors, fit-out teams, waste operators and suppliers working on buildings along the corridor will increasingly have to plan deliveries around the overnight servicing window and altered side-street access rather than relying on conventional daytime vehicle access.
£144m Programme Extends Beyond the Initial Traffic Ban
The 26 October change should not be read as completion of the Oxford Street transformation. The Oxford Street Development Corporation's budget sets out approximately £144m of capital expenditure between 2025–26 and 2030–31 for pedestrianising the section between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street.
The OSDC capital strategy identifies around £27m of expenditure in 2026–27, with the overall capital allocation covering delivery of the Phase One pedestrianisation rather than representing a single construction contract. London Construction Magazine has not identified a publicly announced main permanent public-realm construction contract for the full £144m programme.
That distinction is important because the work visible in October is concentrated on highway preparation, access controls, traffic management and the transition to a traffic-free operating environment. TfL says some construction activity will continue once the street closes, although works will be limited during the Christmas trading period.
LCM first examined the project's delivery and access structure earlier in 2026 in the Oxford Street Breakout Blueprint, when the programme was still moving from governance and consultation towards physical delivery. The position in October is materially different: road-space changes are now being implemented and the first traffic-free operation has a fixed start date.
Works under way on Oxford Street on October 2026, ahead of the traffic-free scheme taking effect on 26 October. Photo: London Construction Magazine.
Permanent Public Realm Still Sits Ahead
East has been appointed to lead design of the first phase between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street, while Hawkins/Brown is developing the wider concept for Oxford Street from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road. City Hall's appointment also brought Publica and J&L Gibbons into East's team, with Aspect Studios supporting Hawkins/Brown.
For the construction sector, the permanent scheme is likely to be substantially more involved than the current traffic changes because a long-term public-realm rebuild has to work around one of London's busiest retail environments, major Underground stations, business servicing and an exceptionally constrained central London streetscape. The £144m programme provides the financial scale, but the precise permanent package structure, procurement route and detailed construction sequence remain matters for later stages of delivery.
In the immediate programme, the next verified milestones are much clearer: bus and road-network changes begin on 24 October, wider traffic diversions take effect on the evening of 25 October, and Oxford Street between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street becomes traffic-free on 26 October.
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