Easthampstead Road

Project overview

Our work on Easthampstead Road is one of the most important parts of the South Wokingham Distributor Road.

From 10 April, the road will be closed between Star Lane and Heathlands Road, with a diversion in place for vehicles.

Separately, we are also doing work to reconstruct the junction of Easthampstead Road and Heathlands Road. A more detailed explanation of this is available lower down this page, but a summary of the current timeline is as follows:

• 21 February: Intended reopening of Heathlands Road, subject to weather
• 23 February to 6 March: Three-way temporary traffic lights on Easthampstead Road and Heathlands Road
• 7 to 12 March: Junction will be fully open while waiting for the roundabout project at the junction of Finchampstead Road and Molly Millars Lane to move forward
• 13 (night) to 16 March (early morning): Closure of Easthampstead Road for BT works. Please note, BT have given verbal confirmation that work will go ahead on these dates
• 16 March to 10 April: Junction of Easthampstead Road and Heathlands Road fully closed for final phase. During the closure, we will be reconstructing the carriageway

Changes to road layout

The road layout will be permanently transformed and when works on the Central Section are finished, part of Easthampstead Road will be permanently closed off to form a cul-de-sac.

Through traffic will instead follow a new link road, which will also provide access to the new housing coming to South Wokingham.

All northbound or southbound through traffic will instead follow the link road, rejoining Easthampstead Road near the junction with Heathlands Road.

There will be a new three-way signalised junction to provide access to and from the northern half of Easthampstead Road. This change was necessary to allow safe access for the new homes that will be built in South Wokingham. 

A four-way junction would need to be much bigger to operate safely and would then be too close to other junctions nearby. Other changes include:

• Except for buses, eastbound traffic on the new Central Section won’t be able to turn left onto Easthampstead Road
• All westbound traffic on the new Central Section will be able to turn right onto Easthampstead Road
• All southbound traffic on Easthampstead Road will be able to turn either left (eastbound) or right (westbound) onto the new Central Section

Once the new road opens, HGVs heading north along Easthampstead Road will no longer be able to turn left into Heathlands Road, though all other traffic will.

The Star Lane level crossing will remain open after the works are completed, but will be closed while works are taking place.

Work at Heathlands Road junction

Although the main closure will begin in April, we are also carrying out work to reconfigure the junction of Easthampstead Road and Heathlands Road.

This work started in mid-November and is due to be completed by mid-April, with the new link road expected to be open a month later.

Between these dates, there will be potential delays to your journey through temporary traffic lights and road closures.

Throughout the works, there is no access for pedestrians through the site, as there will be no footways, but access will be maintained for residents and businesses will remain open as usual.

When Heathlands Road is closed, the diversion route is: Easthampstead Road, Old Wokingham Road, Nine Mile Ride, Heathlands Road (and the reverse for northbound traffic).

The diagrams linked below show how the junction will look at each phase and what to expect in terms of potential disruption. The dates are subject to change and we will update residents via the website and newsletters as soon as possible.

• Phase one: Work started on 17 November and ran for five weeks, finishing prior to the Christmas period. There were three-way temporary traffic lights on Easthampstead Road and at the junction with Heathlands Road, but no road closures were needed
• Phase two: From 7 January, Heathlands Road will be closed at all times. We are currently aiming to reopen the road on 21 February, following reconstruction work, as well as utility and pavement improvements. The road was due to open from 13 February, but couldn't due to wet weather. You can read more about this in our recent newsletter
• Phase three: Assuming we reopen Heathlands Road on 21 February, there will be three-way lights on Easthampstead Road and Heathlands Road from 23 February to 6 March
• Phase four: The junction will be fully open, with no traffic management and no work being carried out between 7 and 12 March. We will be waiting for the roundabout project at the junction of Finchampstead Road and Molly Millars Lane to move forward. Finchampstead Road will be open from 13 March, but there will still be about two weeks of overnight closures (8pm to 6am) on the roundabout for the final surfacing
• From 8pm on 13 March to 6am on 16 March, Easthampstead Road will be closed from 8pm on Friday 13 February through to 6pm on Sunday 15 February. This is to allow essential Openreach infrastructure to be installed. Pedestrian access will be maintained
• Phase five: From 16 March to 10 April, the junction of Easthampstead Road and Heathlands Road fully closed for final phase. During the closure, we will be reconstructing the carriageway

From 10 April, Easthampstead Road will be closed between Star Lane and Heathlands Road for ten months. The Central Section of the distributor road will still be under construction, with the new link road expected to be live from May. 

With the junction reconfiguration work completed, traffic will be able to flow between Easthampstead Road and Heathlands Road.

Then at the end of May, the link road will open and the junction will be open under permanent traffic lights.

As the works progress, we will be able to provide specific start dates for each phase via our South Wokingham newsletter, as well as on our social media channels.