South Wokingham Distributor Road

What is the South Wokingham Distributor Road?

The South Wokingham Distributor Road is part of our major new roads scheme and will run between Finchampstead Road and London Road in Wokingham town.

This new road will be a key access route for new homes and other infrastructure that are going be built on land to the south of the railway.

It will have a shared footway and cycleway along its length as part of our efforts to promote safe, sustainable alternatives to driving.

Two sections of the new road, William Heelas Way and Eastern Gateway, have already been built and opened and there are two elements currently under construction.

The first is the roundabout upgrade at the junction of Finchampstead Road and Molly Millars Lane (Western Gateway), which is due to be completed by late March or early April 2026. The other is the Central Section, which will be finished by early 2027.

Works on these phases began in early 2025 and we’re expecting to open the distributor road in late 2026 while we finish works, such as landscaping, into the early parts of 2027.

We're holding a community forum at St Sebastian's Memorial Hall in Wokingham (RG40 3BA) on Thursday 4 December. The event runs from 4.30pm to 7pm and is an informal drop-in, so there is no need to book. You will be able to see the latest plans for the South Wokingham area, including the distributor road, housing and green spaces.

What the finished road will look like

You can now view the following diagrams:

• Map of the full route, showing phases already built and others under construction (JPEG)
• Preview of the finished Central Section, which is now under construction (JPEG)
• Close-up diagram of the Western end of Central Section (JPEG)
• Close-up diagram of the Eastern end of Central Section (JPEG)
• Close-up diagram of improvements on Finchampstead Road, Western Gateway (JPEG)

Which roads and footpaths will close, and when

We’re expecting the following impacts on your journeys:

• The junction of Finchampstead Road and Molly Millars Lane will be closed for improvements, one exit at a time and with diversions in place, between July 2025 and March 2026
• The junction of Easthampstead Road and Heathlands Road is being reconfigured between November 2025 and May 2026, with the new link road (connecting Easthampstead Road to the distributor road) due to be open by then. There will be three-way lights or road closures in place across the different phases of these works, with no pedestrian access
• Easthampstead Road will be closed between Star Lane and Heathlands Road, with a diversion in place, with this work scheduled to begin in April 2026. Pedestrians and cyclists may also be affected
• We’re planning to improve the junction of Peacock Lane and Waterloo Road. If approved, this will require lane closures with temporary traffic lights on surrounding roads
• 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 the new link road, which will provide access to new housing

All public footpaths between Finchampstead Road, Gipsy Lane, Luckley Road and the private Ludgrove access track were shut for safety reasons in spring 2025.

You can now see a map showing which routes are closed and the target reopening dates. It would be unsafe to allow people to walk through the area while construction work is ongoing. This is partly due to the hazardous and uneven nature of the ground, but there is also heavy machinery regularly crossing the footpaths in both directions.

We know this is disappointing and adds time to your journey, but please be assured that there will be good footpath access in this area once the works finish. All public rights of way will remain, with some realignments in places.

Another footpath between Easthampstead Road and Waterloo Road closed later in 2025 and we are hoping to reopen this by July 2026.

We know all of this is disruptive and apologise for the inconvenience, but we’re working as hard as we can to keep this to a minimum.

How to get updates or contact us

You can keep up with the latest news by signing up to our South Wokingham community newsletter and 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 during business hours on 0800 121 4444.

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.