 Major milestone reached with opening of link road
The new link road that forms an important part of the South Wokingham Distributor Road project is now open.
It runs from the junction with Easthampstead Road up to what will be the distributor road.
Turning right will take you to the Waterloo Road roundabout and William Heelas Way, while to the left will be our site access as construction continues on the Central Section.
The new junction with traffic lights where the link road meets Easthampstead Road also joins up with Heathlands Road.
The link road has been open since Friday 29 May. It has a 30mph speed limit, with shared pedestrian and cycle facilities.
The road will provide access to new homes that will be coming to south of the railway line, helping us to meet housing targets set by central government.
It also redirects through-traffic away from smaller, residential streets. With Easthampstead Road being turned into a cul-de-sac, this will force through traffic onto the new link road.
You can watch our video to take a tour of the link road ahead of your first journey.
Remember, Holme Grange Craft Village is having a summer fun day on Saturday 20 June, from 11am to 4pm. There'll be great food, live entertainment activities for children. The site has free parking.
 Link road provides easier alternative route
The link road provides a quicker alternative to the previous diversion route needed to support the ongoing works on Easthampstead Road.
The new diversion route is:
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Northbound: Link road, William Heelas Way, London Road (A329) and Peach Street (A329)
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Southbound: Peach Street (A329), Broad Street (A329), Rectory Road (A329), Wiltshire Road (A329), London Road (A329), William Heelas Way, link road
There will be no pedestrian access through site during the long-term closure on Easthampstead Road due to the nature of the work being undertaken.
The link road also provides an alternative route for pedestrians and cyclists through a shared pathway.
 Above: Three-way temporary lights at the northern end of the link road will be needed from time to time
Things to consider while we carry out wider work
As part of the permanent arrangement, each end of the link road will be a junction with lights.
This is already the case at the end that meets Easthampstead Road.
At the opposite end, we had previously been using temporary lights to help maintain site access, while we construct the Central Section of the distributor road.
We've decided to switch these lights off, to enable traffic to flow more freely for the time being.
However, the lights will remain in situ and may need to be turned on as required.
 Above: There will be a footpath diversion on the link road for the time being (click to enlarge)
Another thing to bear in mind is the shared pedestrian and cycle facilities. This is the length of the road on one side and more than half of the other side.
However, for the time being, we have a footpath diversion in order to stop people from crossing at the new link road junction. The diagram above explains which parts are open.
This junction will be used as an access point to the work site. If people were allowed to cross there, extra pedestrian phases would need to be added to the traffic lights.
This isn’t necessary right now, as there is already a suitable route nearby for pedestrians and cyclists to use. Also, there’s no need for people to use the north footway of William Heelas Way, as it only leads to our site.
Footpath 5 (Heathlands Road to Waterloo Road roundabout) will soon be closing to allow developers to carry out work. The alternative route is the new footway on the link road and this has been timed to align with the link road opening, with the routes being adjacent to one another.
Helpful links
You can see all disruption across the borough using our live roadworks map.
If you have any questions or want to report a problem related to this project, please email Balfour Beatty or call 0800 121 4444 during business hours.
Before getting in touch, please check that we haven’t already answered your question on our FAQs about how we’re building the road or how the finished layout will work.
Other helpful links include:
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