A329(M) motorway

UK motorway routebox
motorway= A329(M)
length-mi= 4
length-km= 6.4
direction= North - South
start= Bracknell
destinations= Bracknell
Reading
end= Winnersh
opening-date= 1972
completion-date=1975
junctions= 10 -

The A329(M) is a motorway in Berkshire, England. It is 4 miles (6.4km) long and runs from the north of Bracknell to the south east of Reading.

Route

From south to north, the route starts to the north of Bracknell and runs directly from the A329. It passes east of Wokingham in countryside. It then crosses the M4, continues north and meets the A3290 at Winnersh Triangle where it now ends. Historically, the A329(M) used to continue to the junction with the A4, which has been since renumbered as the A3290.

History

The first section of the road, opened in 1973 [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/a329m/ CBRD Motorway Database - A329(M)] ] , went from the Winnersh junction to a temporary terminus at the A321.

A further section - due to open at the same time - took the road up to the junction with the A4 to the east of Reading, running to the north of the railway line and dividing the Earley area of Reading almost in two. However the opening of this section was delayed due to the collapse of the Loddon Viaduct on 24th October 1972, which unfortunately killed 3 people and injured many others. This section subsequently opened in 1974.

The third and final section to be completed was the southern section of the motorway which was built to a standard dual two lane motorway specification (D2), and was opened in 1975. This extended the road to the A329/B3408 junction at Coppid Beech roundabout. The section of Berkshire Way (and the construction of the flyover) came some years later, allowing traffic to flow from Reading and the M4 past the official end of the motorway onto the Southern and Western industrial areas of Bracknell.

The large free flowing interchange between the A329(M) and the M4 is impressive for a road of this length. It was constructed as part of plans for an M31 motorway [ [http://pathetic.org.uk/unbuilt/m31/ Pathetic Motorways - M31] ] which was originally planned to extend down to the M3 (and possibly beyond) in the south.

In the early nineties the section of the A329(M) that met the A4 east of Reading was downgraded to an A road to enable the hard shoulder to be used by a park-and-ride bus service. It was then renamed the A3290.

A unique feature of the A329(M) is its wide grass central reservation north of the M4. The cross-section of the motorway was built in this way to support future widening to dual-three lane standard, which was never introduced. The increase in traffic levels on the motorway since its opening, has led some to argue that widening the motorway to three or more lanes in each direction should be seriously considered.

In 2006 on an area to the south of the A329(M) just beyond the actual designated motorway section a new housing development (Jennets Park) began being constructed. It is intended that a new junction will be created to allow restricted access to this, enabling joining the dual carriageway or leaving it when traveling westbound. No eastbound access is possible on the north side of the road due to the railway line running parallel to the road.

Junctions

References

ee also

*List of motorways in the United Kingdom

External links

* [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/a329m/ CBRD Motorway Database - A329(M)]
* [http://pathetic.org.uk/current/a329m/ Pathetic Motorways - A329(M)]