A THREE-MONTH project to repaint a railway bridge is causing major problems for people living in east Reading.
Network Rail has reduced traffic on London Road to a single lane around the Suttons Seeds roundabout area, so it can carry out the major maintenance project. It involves blasting down the paintwork, checking for defects, and then giving it four coats of green paint.
The firm says the project is necessary and will last for 25 years.
But residents of Newtown are struggling to get in and out of the area, with traffic trying to come out of Liverpool Road frequently blocked by queuing drivers on London Road.
And the jams are backing up across the town. On Tuesday morning, motorists were reporting that journeys that usually take 15 minutes took over an hour as a result of long queues on both London Road and Kings Road.
Park ward councillor Rob White says that he and his fellow councillors had not been consulted over the works and the impact they would have.
Reading Borough Council said the project was given the green light by Wokingham Borough Council, and Network Rail said they looked at alternative options to closing two lanes of traffic, including overnight or weekend closures, but felt this was the best way to proceed.
Residents remain to be convinced, and called for keep clear markings to be painted on London Road at its junction with Liverpool Road to make it easier for motorists to get out.
“Usually, if the traffic is a bit slow there’s normally an opportunity for motorists to get out,” Laura Blackburn said. “Generally people are very courteous, but because of the pressure building due to being made to wait a bit longer, people are so much more stressed and much less likely to let somebody out.”
She said the queueing cars was causing issues for wider vehicles, such as delivery trucks, from entering Liverpool Road because it was narrow.
“Another big problem is the phasing of the lights is incorrect,” she continued. “On Sunday, I came straight through the lights from Shepherds Hill, but it was queuing all the way down Kings Road. It’s not equal phasing for the four sets of lights, and I think that needs to be looked at.
“It’s affecting the air quality, you can taste it in the air. Normally, we’re fairly immune to it, but it’s a much more metallic taste.”
Cllr White, who is also leader of the main opposition party on Reading Borough Council, said: “As a ward councillor disappointingly we had a zero consultation ahead of the bridge works starting, although I understand there were discussions with Reading transport planners.
“Since the work started, obviously, we have been passing on concerns and trying to improve the situation.
“The queueing traffic on London Road is making it difficult for everyone to exit Liverpool Road and this is sometimes tailing back worsening noise and pollution in a residential area.
“The same is true on the other side roads. I would like Network Rail to get these works done as quickly as possible and further explore what can be done to minimise the impact on residents.”
Reading Today understands that Network Rail has asked its traffic management company to look at what can be done to alleviate the problems.
