Council announces hundreds more roads to benefit from £9m resurfacing investment

HUNDREDS of roads are set to be improved in Reading as projects to resurface main roads and residential roads across the borough begin at the start of October.

This year’s major road resurfacing programme starts on Monday 4 October, with 42 sections of main road being enhanced over the next six weeks. The work will see over £2m of improvements to more than 120,000m2 of road surface across the Borough during the programme of work. The confirmed list of roads to benefit from the work, funded equally by the Council’s own investment and the Department for Transport, as part of the Local Transport Plan, is at the end of this release.

Thousands of residents will also see the roads outside their houses change for the better in the coming months, thanks to the Council’s own investment (£9m over 3 years) to improve hundreds of residential streets. This will see:

• 150 residential roads resurfaced with micro-asphalt in the next phase, 2021/22.
• This will start with up to 30 roads being resurfaced by the end of October when work will stop, resuming again in March 2022.
• A further 176 roads set to be resurfaced in the final phase, 2022/23.
• A total investment of £9m in resurfacing improvements over three years.

You can see the list of roads due to be resurfaced in the next phase here: Residential road improvements - Reading Borough Council

Quick to apply, micro-asphalt means less disruption to residents along with a low carbon footprint. It is also a cost-effective way of improving and prolonging the life expectancy of the road so major road repairs, which take longer and cause more disruption, are not needed.

For the residential road improvements, the key information for residents is:

• They will receive a letter in advance to notify them of the dates
• Roads will need to be closed from 8am – 5pm while the work is carried out.
• Vehicle access will not be possible during the works due to the nature of the treatment, and it will not be possible to park on the road during those hours.
• Any parked vehicle will be liable for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and will be removed.
• For a few weeks after the work, the treated roads will seem rough and gravelly whilst the material is left to settle, prior to the road being closed again temporarily so the contractor can return to sweep the road and paint the road markings to leave a smooth, completed surface.

Advance notices of the main road closures will be in place a week before the works commence in each road, and locally signed diversion routes will operate. Notification letters will also be sent to local residents and businesses affected by the resurfacing. Work will commence at 8am each day and finish by 5pm.

It is not currently envisaged that the fuel crisis will affect the residential or major road improvement schemes, though this will continue to be monitored.

Councillor Tony Page, Lead Member for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport, said:

“This is a really positive step for Reading’s road users, be they cyclists, drivers or people taking public transport. We know the quality of roads is an important issue for residents from the feedback we’ve received, which is why we’re taking on such an ambitious project and investing £9m to make widespread improvements across the Borough. Alongside our pavement resurfacing project to benefit pedestrians, we’re doing everything we can to help ensure journeys around Reading are smoother than ever. We thank residents for their patience whilst works take place, which will inevitably result in some disruption, and look forward to them being able to enjoy improved road surfaces”.

 

Main roads to be resurfaced (dates to be confirmed):

North

Albert Road (full extent)

Hemdean Road (from Oakley Rd to Sheridan Avenue)

Peppard Road (from Kiln Road to Cavendish Road)

St Anne’s Road (full extent)

Woodcote Road (junction area with Highmoor Road)

 

East

Elm Road (from Shinfield Road to borough boundary)

Erleigh Road (Addington Road to Alexandra Road)

Palmer Park Avenue (Wokingham Rd to borough boundary)

Vicarage Road (full extent)

Whiteknights Road (Eastern Avn to borough boundary)

Wokingham Road (from Holmes Road to Melrose Avenue)

 

South

Basingstoke Road (from Christchurch Road to Elgar Road South)

Christchurch Gardens (full extent)

Christchurch Road (from Basingstoke Road to Sutherlands Avenue)

Pell Street (from Elgar Road to Sherman Road)

Shinfield Road (from Whitley Wood Road to Elm Road)

Whitley Street (from Southampton Street to Christchurch Rd Roundabout)

 

West

Bath Road (from Burghfield Road to Hogarth Avenue)

Bedford Road (from junction with Oxford Road to Chatham Street)

Beresford Road (full extent)

Berkeley Avenue (from Ashley Road to Esso Petrol Station)

Kentwood Hill (full extent)

Liebenrood Road (full extent)

Little John’s Lane (from Portman Road to Loverock Road)

Oxford Road (from Beresford Road to Russell Street)

Oxford Road (from Shaftesbury Road to Gordon Place)

Park Lane (from Chapel Hill to 50 metres west of Mayfair)

Portman Road (from Bridgewater Close for 500 metres eastbound)

Scours Lane (Oxford Road to Stadium Way)

Southcote Road (full extent)

Trafford Road (full extent)

Upton Road (full extent)

Water Road (from Tilehurst Road to Windrush Way)

 

Central

Coley Avenue (from Berkeley Avenue to Castle Hill)

Eaton Place (full extent)

Forbury Road (from King’s Road to Kenavon Drive – northbound only)

George Street (full extent)

IDR (from A329 southbound exit towards Castle Street)

IDR (from A329 eastbound exit towards Bridge Street)

Russell Street (from Castle Street to Tilehurst Road)

Tilehurst Road (from Russell Street to Western Elms Avenue)

Sidmouth Street (from London Road to Queen’s Road)