Essential work to A4 Thames Maidenhead Bridge
We are writing to you as a business based in the Royal Borough to give you advance
notice of essential maintenance work to be carried out on Thames Maidenhead Bridge
starting next month.
The Royal Borough – in partnership with Buckinghamshire County Council – is to carry out
resurfacing and re-paving work on the historic bridge over a period of up to nine weeks,
starting on Tuesday 6 April.
As you may know, the 300-year-old Grade One listed bridge – one of the borough's most
distinctive landmarks – is in need of major repairs to enable it to continue to take heavy
vehicles in safety as well as protect it for future generations.
Every effort is being made to minimise the effect of this essential work on local residents,
businesses and motorists and the majority of the work has been scheduled for off-peak
daytime hours and during the night as necessary when traffic is at a minimum. Single-lane
traffic will be operated by traffic lights while the work is in progress, and pedestrian access
will be maintained at all times to one of the footways.
Full closure of the bridge to traffic will only be necessary for a maximum of six nights at the
end of the project when the carriageway is being resurfaced. This has been timed to
coincide with school half-term (Monday 31 May to Saturday 5 June) when we expect less
traffic than usual.
The first stage of the project – to replace and strengthen the bridge arches from barges on
the river – started last autumn but has now been suspended during the winter months and
will recommence when the weather improves in the coming months. Initial work
concentrated on the weakest arches which have now been completed
The next stage of work – re-paving the footways using York stone paving approved by
English Heritage – is scheduled to begin on Tuesday 6 April for up to eight weeks (until
27 May).
During this time the bridge will remain partially open, with contractors Ringway Jacobs
working off peak six days a week (no Saturdays) from 9.30 am – 4pm with single-lane
traffic operated by temporary traffic lights. Two lanes will be open between 4 and 7pm
every evening for rush-hour traffic – then contractors will work through the night as
necessary from 7pm until 6am with single-lane traffic once again in operation. Pedestrian
access will be maintained at all times.
Every effort will be made to minimise potential disruption to local residents and
businesses, with no "noisy" activities such as cutting stone slabs and the excavation of the
granite kerbs carried out after 10pm. The council's environmental protection team will
work closely with the contractors to ensure that all the work is carried out as quietly as
possible.
The final stage of the project will see the resurfacing of the carriageway to prevent water
seeping into the newly-restored stonework below. This will take place at the end of the
paving works for a maximum of six nights from Monday 31 May until Saturday or
Sunday 5 or 6 June, to coincide with the schools' half-term holidays.
This will – of necessity and for health and safety reasons – involve complete overnight
closures of the bridge to traffic between 8pm and 6am on five consecutive nights. Once
again pedestrian access will be maintained at all times. Diversion signs will be in place
nearer the time of the closure.
We appreciate that you will need to maintain the smooth operation of your business during
the period of the work and we are committed to providing you with as much information as
possible to ensure that you can continue to do this with the minimum disruption.
For this reason we are holding an Open Day on Wednesday 17 March at Maidenhead
Rowing Club, Maidenhead Bridge from 3 – 8pm when officers will be available to
provide you with more information and answers to your questions
For further details abut the scheme please call the customer service centre's information
line on 01628 683868.
In the meantime we look forward to seeing you on 17 March.