READING MOTORISTS expressed their disappointment after roadworks led to delays of over 30 minutes.
Last week, CityFibre’s repairs on Whitley Street and Christchurch Road added to Reading’s traffic chaos.
One resident said it took her two hours to travel from Spencers Wood to central Reading.
Whitley resident, Ernest Ayton, said: “This is Reading Council care for you. People have to use roads to get to work. They’re [a] total mess, the roads system.
“Heads should roll for [a] total mess-up of Reading’s roads system.”
Multi-way traffic signals were put in place which, compounded by weekend M4 closures, led to stand-still traffic entering the roundabout from three directions.
Bus services, including the Emerald 5 and 6 routes, experienced significant delays.
According to one passenger, his journey from Whitley Wood to central Reading took over one hour.
Elly Brooke, who lives in Shinfield, explained: “We spent two hours just getting from Spencers Wood to Christchurch roundabout, we were going for our Covid jabs. Sadly we had to give up.
“There is no communication about such a major roadwork. We weren’t told the M4 was going to be shut all weekend either.”
Whitley Wood resident, Roger Millard, was also affected by the works.
Working on King’s Road, he explained the commute was too long to walk.
He said: “This closure, for the benefit of a private company, has made it difficult for me to travel to and from work.
“In addition, the Shinfield Road near The Sportsman is totally closed and there are temporary traffic lights on the diversion near Asda, also for the benefit of a private company.”
The works had been scheduled to finish on Friday, October 7, however, thanks largely to pressure applied by Katesgrove councillor Liam Challenger.
Cllr Challenger informed residents that the works were taking place under national rules, stating Reading Borough Council had no power to stop or pause them.
However, after communicating with CityFibre directly, he was reassured that work would be completed by Thursday, September 29.
He said: “I am glad to see that CityFibre completed the works after pressure from us to stop the chaos it caused.
“They need to improve and change their communication and look at how they can minimise disruption across the town. We will keep holding them to account on their work.”
