 Above: A diagram showing the first phase of road closures at the junction (click to enlarge)
Road closure for roundabout works start Monday
The closure of Molly Millars Lane at the junction with Finchampstead Road in Wokingham is starting on Monday (21 July).
This is the first in a series of phased closures at this junction, which will see us upgrade the existing mini roundabout to a bigger one to increase traffic capacity.
The Western Gateway is part of the South Wokingham Distributor Road project, which we are completing with Balfour Beatty.
Molly Millars Lane will be closed until early September, with diversions for traffic. Residents and businesses will have access at all times and pedestrian access will remain, with some footpath diversions.
During this phase, traffic will continue to flow in both directions on Finchampstead Road (as shown in the diagram above), but there may be short periods when temporary traffic lights are needed.
Once Molly Millars Lane reopens in the autumn, there will be further closures on Finchampstead Road until March 2026.
All businesses, including the Tesco superstore off Finchampstead Road, will be open as usual, with some diversions for access, while the new roundabout is being built.
 Diversion routes during this phase of works
For this phase, you can view the diversion on our interactive map to see the route for cars and most other vehicles, except for HGVs.
Cars and most other traffic visiting Molly Millars Lane will be diverted as follows:
-
Eastbound - Barkham Road (B3349), Station Approach, Reading Road (A329), Station Road (A321), Wellington Road (A321) and Finchampstead Road (A321)
-
Westbound - Finchampstead Road (A321), Wellington Road (A321), Station Approach, Reading Road (A329), Station Road (A321) and Barkham Road (B3349)
HGVs will be diverted along Barkham Road (B3349), Langley Common Road (B3349), Eversley Road (A327), Nine Mile Ride Extension, Nine Mile Ride and Finchampstead Road (B3016 and A321), or the other way round.
We will carry out regular inspections of the diversion routes to ensure they are operating as planned, taking further action if required. All diversion routes will have signs installed, as per the approved diversion routes.
Additional temporary signage stating ‘access to residents only. No through road – follow diversion’ will be installed at each end of Eastheath Avenue, Evendons Lane, Doles Lane and Edneys Hill to encourage traffic to use the official diversion routes.
There will also be improvements for cyclists and pedestrians as part of this project. You can see a diagram of how the finished roundabout will look.
 Looking ahead to later phases of the project
You can click on the dates below to view diagrams for each phase:
-
Early September 2025 – Finchampstead Road (north of junction) will be closed with diversions. Traffic will continue to flow between Molly Millars Lane and Finchampstead Road (south of junction) only
-
End of 2025, or early 2026 – Finchampstead Road (south of junction) will be closed with diversions. Traffic will continue to flow between Molly Millars Lane and Finchampstead Road (north of junction) only
-
March 2026 – Finchampstead Road reopens. Final surfacing and road marking will be carried out, which may require about a week of overnight closures
At times, the direction of traffic at the roundabout near Tesco will change, with temporary traffic management in place.
However, access to Landen Court and the supermarket will remain open at all times. There will always be pedestrian access, with some footpath diversions.
Our partners at Balfour Beatty have done all they can to estimate how long they will need. However, this is a complex project and the timeline is subject to change.
If the work is held up for any reason, we will let you know via this newsletter.
The project is being forward funded by a £29.6 million contribution from Homes England and this will be repaid by developers as part of their planning consent for new housing at South Wokingham.
Useful links
If you know someone who could be affected by these works, please feel free to forward this newsletter and encourage them to join our South Wokingham mailing list. It's free, and it takes just seconds to sign up.
|
