MOTORISTS are being warned to expect more misery tonight after two lanes of the M4 were closed to repair a pothole this afternoon.

The Highways Agency closed one lane on eastbound carriageway between Junctions 10 and 11 to carry out emergency repairs to a large pothole causing 50-minute delays now that traffic is already beginning to build up. The closure comes a at similar time to an accident on the motorway last night which caused traffic chaos throughout the borough, leaving motorists taking more than two hours to get from one side of town to the other.

Borough transport leader Cllr Tony Page blasted the Highways Agency’s decision to begin the roadworks as “scandalous, claiming it will dump yet more traffic chaos, confusion and mayhem on the borough.

He said: “Whilst yesterday’s accident was obviously not the responsibility of the Agency, a decision to close the motorway for emergency works just hours before the peak hour traffic in the Reading area is the height of irresponsibility.

“I am sure that the works could have been delayed until 7 or 8pm to enable late night and overnight works to have been undertaken, thereby causing minimal inconvenience to users of the M4 and obviously to people in the Reading and Greater Reading area.”

When the M4 is stationary it can cause mile-long queues of jammed traffic because cars cannot exit the A33, bringing the borough’s road network to a grinding halt. Cllr Page is calling for an urgent meeting with the Highways Agency to demand an explanation for why it did not consult with the borough council prior to closing the M4.

He said: “Any major disruption between junctions 10 and 11 will inevitably have a significant effect on the town as drivers understandably look for alternative routes around the M4 delays and traffic backs up along the A33 and into the town centre and beyond. That is particularly the case if it coincides with Reading’s rush hour.

“The Highways Agency remains as ever remote and unaccountable and I will be demanding an explanation.”

Highways Agency spokesman James Wright said Cllr Page’s criticism was unfair, stressing the even the best maintain roads will suffer from surface defects from time to time and that stretch of the motorway is currently undergoing a multi-million pound renewal.

He added: “We are working as hard as we can to repair the large pothole that has appeared on the M4 near junction 10. We do not take the decision to close lanes lightly, but the pothole is causing a clear safety risk to traffic and requires immediate repair."

The carriageway will be completely closed at 10pm so that a full repair can be carried out with a diversion will be put in place between Junctions 11 and 10 via the B3270 toward Winnersh, the A329 and the A329(M).