£900,000 of IKEA road improvements on the way
Significant improvements to be made before store opens, says West Berkshire Council
MOTORISTS should prepare for the next stage of roadworks to improve routes before IKEA opens in Pincents Lane this summer.
A section of the A4 Bath Road in Calcot will be resurfaced next month as part of a £900,000 West Berkshire Council project.
The work, which will be completed before the new IKEA store opens, will take place between Arlington Business Park in Theale and the Sainsbury’s store at Calcot.
The council said that the new surface was expected to last for 10 to 15 years and would reduce the need for further work once IKEA opened.
The council was awarded £1.9m from the Government’s pinch-point fund, a scheme to help remove bottlenecks on local roads.
The remaining funds came from developer contributions, with IKEA paying around £5m towards traffic improvements in the area.
Lanes will be closed while the resurfacing takes place but the council said that the work will mainly be done at night, with occasional off-peak work during the day.
It anticipates that rush-hour traffic will be largely unaffected by the works, but occasional slip-lane closures on the M4 entry and exit will be in place. The closures will be advertised beforehand.
The six-week works begin on Monday, April 18, following work by Breheny Civil Engineering on building a new junction and widening the road, to improve traffic flow in the area.
The council’s executive member for highways, Garth Simpson (Con, Cold Ash), said: “This is a significant investment in Calcot’s road network to replace the worn road surface of a very important part of our network.
“The new surface will last for another decade or longer and will mean we have done the work and are out of the way before the new IKEA store opens.
“The good news for motorists is that, unlike the current roadworks, the resurfacing will be done at night and during off-peak hours.
“We know that motorists are bearing the brunt of the works up there at the moment and we are working closely with Breheny Civil Engineering to manage the project and keep traffic flowing as best as we can.
“I’d like to thank motorists for their patience as this work continues over the coming weeks.”
Breheny is providing an update on its work in the area on its website www.breheny.co.uk/ 2015/08/ikea-highway-works-reading-updates/
When IKEA Reading opens later this year, it will create 350 jobs.
