New section of road opens in Wokingham
The penultimate section of the northern distributor road has opened
A major new road being built to serve new homes and relieve congestion in Wokingham town is almost complete after the penultimate sections opened to traffic.
The new 1km carriageway to the west of Old Forest Road, which runs from the A329 Reading Road roundabout to a new junction with Old Forest Road, is part of the North Wokingham Distributor Road along with a newly upgraded stretch of Old Forest Road and Toutley Road.
Work included installing a new 45m bridge crossing the railway line off Old Forest Road and realigning part of the existing Toutley Road to include an improved crossing over the Ashridge Stream.
This new section of the distributor road has an off-road cycle path to encourage active travel, improve local cycling and walking links and reduce the number of vehicle journeys on the wider network.
Trevor Saunders, assistant director for planning and delivery at Wokingham Borough Council, said:
“Many thanks to our in-house project team and the team at Balfour Beatty for their hard work in completing this technically complex project.
“We know there was some disruption locally while the work was carried out, so we’d also like to thank anybody who was affected for their patience and understanding. Now that it is complete, we hope our residents and businesses will see the benefits for many years to come.”
The North Wokingham Distributor Road will run from the A329 Reading Road to the west of Wokingham town, near the M4 overbridge, to the A329 London Road in the east, near Coppid Beech roundabout, and also includes Queens Road, Bell Foundry Lane, Diamond Jubilee Way and Oak Avenue.
The only remaining section is a 550m stretch between Bell Foundry Lane and Dalley Road, work on this, finished last year although it isn’t ready to open due to the high volume of construction traffic from new homes being built on an adjoining section of the road.
The council say they're working closely with the developer to confirm an opening date and will announce this as soon as possible.