Inner Distribution Road | |
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Map of Reading Town Centre showing the Inner Distribution Road
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Junction with Chatham Street and Friar Street
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Route information | |
Length: | 2.4 mi (3.9 km) |
Existed: | 1969 – present |
Major junctions | |
Orbital around Reading, Berkshire | |
A329 road A4155 road A33 road A327 road |
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Road network | |
The Inner Distribution Road or IDR is a mostly dual carriageway ring road that encircles the town centre of Reading, Berkshire, England. It forms part of the A329 that runs from Wentworth in Surrey to Thame in Oxfordshire.
The Inner Distribution Road opened in 1969, after much controversy because of the destruction caused. Due to financial problems it remained half completed until 1989.
Reading Borough Council drew up plans for the Inner Distribution Road to become an anti-clockwise one-way traffic route to help the traffic keep moving. In 2006 local radio station Reading 107 conducted a survey asking if the road should become a one-way system, over 90% of people thought that there should be a public enquiry before any proposed changes go ahead. Due to the current economic condition plans have been put on hold and could be downsized.
Development plans created in 2003 to build a deck over the Inner Distribution Road to enable the expansion of Chatham Place were partially completed in 2009. Speaking at an event to mark the completion of the Chatham Place redevelopment in February 2016, Tony Page, Deputy Leader of the Council, said "Part of our vision for this area is to one day cover over the IDR to shield off all of the noise; it is an aspiration that we intend to work on in the future."
Coordinates: 51°27′16.25″N 0°58′44.04″W / 51.4545139°N 0.9789000°W