12 more Reading roads to be resurfaced

Twelve more Reading roads are set to be resurfaced within the next month, making it a total of 467 roads that have been improved for residents in the last three years.

These roads will bring to an end the carriageway resurfacing element of the council’s ambitious three-year highways £9m project which has seen over a third of Reading’s roads resurfaced. However, the council has already committed a further £8m investment in roads to continue this work, noting that the improvement of road surfaces remains residents’ number one request. These funds will seek to continue to improve additional roads and to maintain a much higher level of improved road surfaces for Reading.

In addition to the comprehensive residential road improvements, the £9m council investment in roads and pavements has also seen 14 concrete residential roads resurfaced and 47 pavements improved with another 11 due to be completed before the end of March.

The additional £8m council investment in surfacing improvements, alongside Department for Transport grant funding, will begin in mid-February with up to 39 major roads due to be resurfaced.

Reading’s climate emergency and the council's pledge to achieve net carbon zero by 2030 was addressed within the highways £9m project, with contractors Kiely Bros and Miles Macadam vastly reducing the amount of carbon in the process through such changes as using recycled aggregates and lower temperature bitumen, and sourcing local tarmac plants, to reduce delivery distances, and sustainable green energy options.

Miles Macadam provided ‘tree whips’ for community volunteers to plant along Peppard Road, and the council is proudly planting 350 trees in total in conjunction with the resurfacing programme, as trees can be effective “carbon suckers” along roadsides. The resulting benefit to the environment is that every tonne of carbon used is offset by two trees being planted around the borough.

The programme begins this week and takes place in the following locations:

• Cholmeley Road (Filey Rd to London Rd) 14 November for 1 day, 8am-5pm
• De Beauvoir Road (Full Extent) 15 November for 1 day, 8am-5pm
• Alexandra Road (London Rd to Erleigh Rd) 16 November for 1 day, 8am-5pm
• Elmhurst Road (Full Extent) 17 November for 2 days, 8am-5pm
• Francis Street (Hill St to Sherman Rd) 21 November for 1 day, 8am-5pm
• Somerstown Court (Off Prospect St) 21 November for 1 day, 8am-5pm
• Halls Road (Full Extent) 22 November for 2 days, 8am-5pm
• Pierces Hill (Full Extent) 24 November for 1 day, 8am-5pm
• Oakley Road (Kidmore Rd to Hemdean Rd) 25 November for 1 day, 8am-5pm
• Kings Street (Minster St to Duke St) 28 November for 1 day, 7pm-1am
• Norcot Road (Church End Ln to Broomfield Rd) 29 November for 4 days, 7pm-1am
• Star Road (Lower Henley Rd to Gosbrook Rd) 5 December for 2 days, 8am-5pm and 930am-330pm

The key information for residents in these roads is:

• They will receive a letter in advance to notify them of the proposed works. Residents are asked to refer to the advance notice boards for exact dates.
• Roads will need to be closed as detailed above while the work is carried out. It will not be possible to park on the road during those hours.
• During the road closure residents’ vehicle access will only be available when it can be done safely; residents can liaise with site staff on this.
• Any parked vehicle obstructing the work will be liable for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and will be removed.

Councillor Karen Rowland, Lead Member for Environmental Services and Community Safety, said:

“We have recognised that the state of Reading’s roads has been a recurring concern for residents. That’s why we committed, three years ago, to a hugely ambitious investment to improve over 500 roads and footways in the borough through an investment of £9m. It is testimony to the council’s ability to deliver that we’ve achieved numbers in excess of that goal with a total of 467 road and 47 pavement improvements at the conclusion of that funding. It is very much a testament to our ability to keep improving that we’re continuing to propel forward with that momentum through an additional £8m investment for the future”.