Newbury - Traffic signal upgrade to improve motorists' journeys

[Administrator]

Traffic signals at three key junctions in Newbury will be upgraded by West Berkshire Council in the coming weeks.

The new signal controllers will help improve the flow of traffic through Newbury by giving the highways team more flexibility to alter the lights according to local traffic flows. The more flexible and reliable system will mean that:

• Highways officers will have the flexibility to change how the junction operates according to local traffic needs.


• All three junctions will be able to communicate with each other to synchronise their lights with each other to become more efficient and get traffic through the junctions quicker


• Highways officers can take manual control of the lights to help manage traffic flows in the event of collisions, roadworks or big local events.

While the traffic controllers are upgraded the lights will have to be turned off. During the work, entry to the junctions will be controlled by a combination of temporary lights and give way signs.

Replacement of the controllers is a lengthy, technical piece of work which will take several days to complete. The largest junction, the Robin Hood roundabout, will be completed during half-term as traffic is generally quieter than term-time.

The planned works at each junction will take several days and will begin on:

• Wednesday October 23 - A4 Western Avenue and A339 junction (by the A339 flyover)


• Monday October 26 - Robin Hood roundabout - junction of the A4, A339, London Road, B4009 Shaw Road


• Friday November 6 - the A4,Faraday Road and Newport Road junction

Speaking about the planned works, Garth Simpson, West Berkshire's Executive Member for Highways said: "Upgrading each junction is a lengthy, technical piece of work which requires replacing a cabinet on the side of the road, reconnecting several hundred wires and testing the new systems. It will take several days to complete the work and unfortunately it can't be done without turning the lights off.

"We're keen to complete this work before Boundary Road closes again in January so that we're in the best possible position to manage the traffic during the bridge replacement. We've timed the works so that the busiest junction, Robin Hood, is completed over half-term when the roads are quieter than usual. We won't need any lane closures or diversions and will manage the junctions with temporary lights and give way signs.

"We've done all we can to minimise disruption to motorists but we'd ask for patience if journeys do take a few minutes longer. Once we've completed the upgrade we'll have a more reliable, flexible traffic control system which will improve how we can manage traffic in Newbury and hopefully improve journeys in the town."