Transport secretary Grant Shapps has given the green light to plans to build a 5.5-mile dual carriageway on the A47 in Norfolk at a cost of £200m.
The Department for Transport (DfT) described the stretch of road between North Tuddenham and Easton as one of the country’s most dangerous A roads and said the scheme would help to improve safety and reduce congestion.
It said ‘traffic modelling data’ shows that the section is used by over 25,000 vehicles each day and has one of the highest recorded crash rates for an A road in the UK, adding that casualty projections suggest that 64 fatal or serious injury collisions could be prevented over 60 years following the opening of the new dual carriageway.
Journey times are expected to be reduced by ‘up to’ five minutes.
The granting of the Development Consent Order means that preparatory work on the project can begin later this year with construction due to begin in early 2023.
A computer generated image of the new Wood Lane junction
The new road will be built south of the existing A47 at Hockering and will run north of the current road at Honingham. Two new junctions will also be constructed and a roundabout removed, with four new bridges. Sections of the existing A47 will be ‘de-trunked’ and additional provision will be provided for non-motorised road users.
Chris Griffin, programme leader for National Highways in the East Region, said: 'We are delighted with today’s announcement which means our plans to upgrade this section of the A47 with a dual carriageway moves to the construction stage.
'In reaching this milestone, I would like to acknowledge and thank all those whose hard work has driven this scheme from an initial plan to the start of construction.'
The new section of road is due to open to traffic in the winter of 2025.
The scheme is one of six major improvements costing almost half a billion pounds that National Highways is making to the 115-mile section of the A47 between Peterborough and Great Yarmouth.
The first of these – a £17m upgrade to Guyhirn junction in Cambridgeshire – officially opened in May.
