The next phase of improvements to Bracknell Forest's road network is about to get underway on the A329 London Road between Martins Heron and Ascot

The £3.8m council and government-funded scheme is designed to manage an expected increase in vehicle numbers on this busy corridor as the borough grows over the next decade and beyond.

The first phase of the improvement scheme begins on Monday April 10 with the widening of London Road east of its junction with Fernbank Road. To help keep traffic disruption to a minimum, particularly at peak times, off-peak lane closures will be used whenever possible.

During this phase of the scheme, work to improve the entrance and exit to Licensed Victuallers School will also take place and is due to begin on Monday, 26 June. Once complete, this work will prevent slow-moving traffic entering and exiting the school from affecting overall traffic flow on this key road. Through traffic in both directions will be maintained at all times during this part of this phase of the scheme.

While everything is being done to minimise disruption, unfortunately there will be some impact on traffic flows at certain times during this phase of the scheme, which is scheduled to be finished by September 2017.

The second phase of the improvements will begin in January 2018. This includes the upgrade of the signals at both the Priory Road and Fernbank Road junctions with London Road to incorporate the most modern traffic signals. Also, the existing Martins Heron roundabout will be replaced with a signalised crossroads junction so traffic can be managed much more efficiently, in a similar way to the works on the Coral Reef junction completed last year.

Cllr Chris Turrell, executive member for planning and transport, said: "As part of our continued planned investment in infrastructure to support the ongoing growth of the borough, we will be making improvements to this important corridor in and out of the borough. These improvements will provide additional capacity to cope with increased traffic flows and provide more reliable journey times along this busy route.

“The council has been carefully planning these works to minimise disruption but there will be times where there will be some delay to normal journey times so I would like to thank in advance motorists, residents and businesses for their patience during these important improvement works."

For more information and updates about the scheme, go to www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/a329londonroadimprovement