Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Where was the project located?
The scheme to improve Junction 11 of the M4 at Reading and local roads is now complete and open to all road users.

Why was the scheme needed?
Work began back in April 2008 to improve Reading's main traffic gateway - M4 Junction 11 - which had become a real bottleneck over many years causing congestion in and around the junction.

Reading Borough Council has worked in partnership with Wokingham Borough Council and the Highways Agency to implement the £65 million transport improvement scheme.

What work was carried out?
Improvements to Junction 11 include a new four-lane motorway junction with two road bridges around the outside of the existing junction to increase road space, which are supported by six huge steel beams, weighing 250 tonnes in total.

The scheme also included two new junctions with signals south of the M4 on the A33 Swallowfield by-pass in Shinfield, with an extra lane in each direction for 600 metres.

The whole area has also been made greener by planting trees and shrubs to complement the scheme.

There are some minor tasks still to be completed, however this will not affect the operation of the junction.

How did this benefit road users?
The project's aim was to reduce congestion at the busy junction, and since opening in the Summer of 2010, journey times in peak rush hour have been reduced and queuing on the motorway is now a rare occurrence.

The motorway junction also remained open throughout the works in order to minimise disruption to road users.

Non-motorised users have also benefited by the increased provision for public transport, pedestrian footways and cycle lanes.

How do I find out more information?
For further information about the scheme please contact Reading Borough Council on 0118 939 0301. Alternatively, please visit the Reading Borough Council M4 J11 Improvements web page.