DRIVERS are being warned as temporary traffic lights are to be introduced onto a major road from tomorrow.

Network Rail have warned drivers of its upcoming works to a railway bridge on the line between Reading and Wokingham.

The railway firm will be carrying out paint works on the 106-year-old bridge to bring it back to life.

As such, temporary traffic lights are set to be installed in London Road from Monday, February 13.

These are expected to be in place until early May.

Network Rail said: "We’re going to shotblast the steel back to bare metal, treat any corrosion and then give it a coat of green paint, which won’t just keep the bridge looking good, but will keep the structure in good condition to carry trains well into its second century.

“Clearly London Road is an important route into Reading so we’re going to paint half the bridge at a time, keeping one lane of the road open at all times, with temporary traffic lights."

Work will begin on Monday and take place from 7am to 6pm each day up to May 9.

The firm said off peak working is not possible due to scaffolding requirements, which means traffic lanes cannot be opened at peak times.

The temporary traffic lights will swap sides of the road roughly halfway through the project, to allow painting to cover both sides of the structure. The nature of the work means the structure will be hidden by scaffolding and a sheeted covering, to stop paint and debris from escaping the worksite.

Network Rail added: "

“It’s not ideal as we know this will cause some disruption, but the nature of the work and the need to keep our people safe while doing it, means we need to take this step. We’ll also make sure there’s a safe pedestrian route too.

“I’m very grateful to our neighbours in the town, who’ll be hearing and seeing us work between 7am and 6pm for the next three months, but we will get a much nicer looking bridge out of the job at the end of it.”