++ UPDATE – for the latest on the reopening, click here ++
FOR three months, the daily commute has been more of a grind than usual as motorists have been caught up in a project to restore an historic railway bridge – but it will be all over later this week.
Since February, a team from Network Rail have been on the site on the A4 London Road.
Works have included maintenance and repainting to the 106-year-old bridge which straddles the boundary line between Reading and Wokingham boroughs.
Network Rail said in February the work was necessary to protect the structure from rusting, and would be a once-in-50 years project.
The project was due to be completed by Tuesday, May 9, with works taking place from 7am to 6pm daily. And the project has almost run to schedule: Reading Today understands that, all being well, traffic will once again be able to use the roads as normal from Thursday.
Due to repairs and maintenance to an overhead rail bridge, the road, normally two lanes wide beneath the bridge, has been reduced to just one.
The scaffolding changed carriageways halfway through the project.
The work has led to long queues in both directions, on London Road, and also on the A3290 where drivers join the roundabout via a slip road approach.
Today, Tuesday, scaffolding is being taken down, and it is hoped it will be completely removed by the end of Wednesday.
Network Rail has been contacted for a comment.
Announcing the project in February, Network Rail spokesperson Chris Denham said: “We’re going to shotblast the steel back to bare metal, treat any corrosion and then give it a coat of green paint, which won’t just keep the bridge looking good, but will keep the structure in good condition to carry trains well into its second century.
“Clearly London Road is an important route into Reading so we’re going to paint half the bridge at a time, keeping one lane of the road open at all times, with temporary traffic lights.
“It’s not ideal as we know this will cause some disruption, but the nature of the work and the need to keep our people safe while doing it, means we need to take this step. We’ll also make sure there’s a safe pedestrian route too.
“I’m very grateful to our neighbours in the town, who’ll be hearing and seeing us work between 7am and 6pm for the next three months, but we will get a much nicer looking bridge out of the job at the end of it.”
