WOKINGHAM’s new link road is expected to be accessible from Friday.
First journeys are expected to begin from around 6pm, on May 29, subject to final testing, and good weather to complete surfacing and road lines.
The route runs from the junction with Easthampstead Road to what will be the South Wokingham Distributor Road.
Turning right will take drivers to the Waterloo Road roundabout.
Site access remains to the left while construction continues.
The link road will be 30mph and there will be shared pedestrian and cycle facilities, with a junction and traffic lights at each end.
While the Central Section is still under construction lights will remain at the northern end of the link road to maintain site access.
And where Easthampstead Road meets Heathlands Road and the link road, the current uncontrolled T-junction will become a four-arm signalised junction.
When the new link road is open, it will provide an alternative route while Easthampstead Road remains closed.
The new diversion route will be:
Northbound: Link road, William Heelas Way, London Road (A329) and Peach Street (A329)
Southbound: Peach Street (A329), Broad Street (A329), Rectory Road (A329), Wiltshire Road (A329), London Road (A329), William Heelas Way, link road
Work continues, too, on the new junction for the Central Section of the distributor road.
The closure is between Star Lane and just north of Heathlands Road, including the level crossing, and this applies to pedestrians and cyclists too.
Balfour Beatty is building a new junction where the new road crosses Easthampstead Road to the south of the railway line.
The layout here will be permanently altered, with part of Easthampstead Road becoming a cul-de-sac and all through traffic using the new link road.
Once it is finished, pedestrians and cyclists will be able to get through the cul-de-sac.
The link road will access new homes coming to South Wokingham.
About 600 homes have already been built at Montague Park, to the south of London Road.
The remaining 1,800 or so homes will be to the south of the railway line, on land between Waterloo Road and Finchampstead Road.
Wokingham Borough Council says it is legally required to build a certain number of homes due to Government targets and that it has worked strategically over many years to carefully deliver these homes, funding the work with a grant from Homes England.
The link road, it says, will direct access to these homes, and minimise the impact of increased traffic on nearby residential roads.
Safe, accessible cycling and walking provision, it says, will help to reduce the need for car travel, and offer an alternative route for through traffic that avoids Wokingham town centre.
Lastly, with the Tesco roundabout now resurfaced, the council says drivers are seeing improved traffic flows on Finchampstead Road, and similar improvements at the roundabout on the other side of the railway bridge, following the installation of permanent traffic lights.
In August the Tesco roundabout will need to be linked to the distributor road.
For information, visit: wokingham.gov.uk
