Plans for a new dual carriageway and junction improvements are among the latest designs for plans to improve the A47, released today.
Highways England is upgrading six stretches of the A47 between Peterborough and Great Yarmouth as part of a £300 million improvement, including the Norfolk section between Blofield and North Burlingham.
The preferred option for upgrading the Blofield to North Burlingham stretch was announced in November 2017, and today’s plans reveal how the proposed dual carriageway will improve safety for road users.
The changes will see a mile and a half of new two-lane dual carriageway created 70 metres south of the existing road, which will remain as a local access road to further reduce traffic on the A47.
Highways England programme lead for the A47, Peter Havlicek, said: “This stretch of road connects areas of growing economic activity between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. Whilst around half of the A47 is already dual carriageway, the Blofield to North Burlingham section is not. Sandwiched between two dual carriageway sections, this stretch of the road acts as a bottleneck, resulting in congestion and slower journey times.
“Following our public statutory consultation in October 2018, we’ve continued to refine our plans for this stretch of the A47, as it’s important that we get it right for road users and the affected communities. We’ve refined our proposals to address the common themes and concerns raised, whilst ensuring that the project solves the traffic problem, improves journey times and improves safety as key considerations.
“We have also done more ground investigations and surveys, including using radar to detect underground plastic water and gas pipes; traffic surveys; and air quality monitoring. Our environment and ecology surveys are continuing.”
The plans also include safety improvements to the Yarmouth Road junction, closing the right turn and adding a dedicated lane to join the A47. A new bridge over the new dual carriageway will connect the villages of Blofield and North Burlingham, and take traffic from Blofield toward Great Yarmouth.
In addition, there are proposed changes to the east junction, with a new two-tier junction connecting B1140 South Walsham Road (north of the A47) with B1140 Coxhill Road (south of the A47).
Direct access from Lingwood Road and Lingwood Lane to this stretch of the A47 will be closed when it becomes a dual carriageway, for safety reasons.
For more information about the plans visit www.highwaysengland.co.uk/a47-blofield-to-north-burlingham/
