Thursday 12 Apr 2018

Railway neighbours reminded of essential work to Butts Hill Road bridge

Region & Route:
Wales & Western: Western
| Wales & Western

Residents of Woodley in Berkshire are reminded that a temporary road closure will be in place from 14 April to 18 August in order for Network Rail to undertake essential work to Butts Hill Road Bridge. Three way traffic lights will be in operation, and will remain in place until the road is closed later in the year. Please bear with us while the road is closed and diversions are in place.

As part of the electrification of the Great Western Mainline and the introduction of a new fleet of electric trains, Network Rail will be strengthening and increasing the height of the sides of the bridge to make it safer for road users and passengers on the railway.

However the works, which take place between April and October, will require some traffic restrictions to be in place. Between April and July there will be temporary closures of the bridge for Network Rail to do the preliminary work including installing scaffolding and blast cleaning the bridge. These works will take place mostly overnight to reduce disruption to the local public.   From August until September the bridge will be shut for the new parapets to be installed. The bridge will be fully reopened in October.

Jamie Davies, Network Rail’s head of programme integration, said:

“This work is crucial to delivering a better service for passengers as we undertake the biggest transformation of the Western route since Brunel, with investment in infrastructure and the largest fleet upgrade in a generation.

“Making sure the public are safe is our key priority however I understand this essential work will be inconvenient so I’d like to thank local residents for their patience in advance while we carry it out.

 “We are continuing to work closely with Wokingham Borough Council to minimise disruption and complete the work in as short a timescale as possible.”

The diversion route, agreed with the local highways authority, during the temporary closure of Butts Hill Road Bridge is as follows: Butts Hill Road, Headley Road, Reading Road, A4 Bath Road, Pound Lane.

Members of the public with any questions about the work can also call Network Rail’s 24-hour National Helpline on 03457 11 41 41.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office -Western route
07730 354394
MediaRelationsWestern@networkrail.co.uk

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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