MOTORISTS are being warned that temporary traffic lights will be in place at one of the major routes in and out of Reading – and they’ll be there until May.
Network Rail is to give a 106-year-old bridge a makeover, including repainting it.
And to do it safely, it requires lane closures.
The railway bridge marks the border between Reading and Wokingham boroughs, and is on the A4 London Road by Palmer Park and the Sutton Seeds roundabout.
Reading Borough Council are warning people to be prepared.
In a tweet, they said: “If you live in the East Reading area, or commute through this part of town, be aware of Network Rail’s roadworks starting on Monday, February 13, as part of their work to improve the bridge over London Road in Wokingham Borough”
Network Rail says the paint on the bridge has faded and worn and needs completely replacing to stop the structure from rusting.
In order to do this, scaffolding is required and this has to be placed on the road.
Temporary traffic lights will swap sides of the road roughly halfway through the project, to allow painting to cover both sides of the structure. The nature of the work means the structure will be hidden by scaffolding and a sheeted covering, to stop paint and debris from escaping the worksite.
The work will take place from 7am to 6pm daily, but diversions will be in place round the clock. Network Rail says off-peak working is not possible.
The work is not expected to be finished until Tuesday, May 9.
London Road already has temporary traffic lights at its junction with Cholmeley Road. These were damaged in a road traffic collision last year, and need specialist parts to be replaced.
And last week, Thames Water coned off a lane to allow water works to take place. These are expected to continue until Tuesday, February 14.
While the works will be started during half-term, it is expected that the three-month project will cause long delays to people looking to get in and out of Reading.
Network Rail Southern region’s spokesman 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.”
He added: “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.”
