Worst of junction closures are over, says road boss

The boss of a £200m roadworks scheme has said the "worst of the closures" are now over.

Alistair Stout, project director for National Highways, said rebuilding the A11/A47 Thickthorn junction, near Norwich, with traffic still flowing was complicated, but urged road users to "bear with us".

The scheme, approved last year, is intended to speed up journey times in the area by building slip roads and underpasses.

On a visit to the site, on the south-western outskirts of the city, Roads Minister Simon Lightwood acknowledged there had been delays and disruption.

"I understand the frustration of being stuck in roadworks, but it's going to be worth it," said Lightwood.

Explaining the traffic delays, Stout said: "Probably the worst of the closures are over, when we had a single lane running back in November.

"The reason we had that is that we needed to install the contraflow system and we needed to harden the central reservation to be able to do that."

Stout said two lanes in one direction and one in the other were now open – and would remain so until the work was finished.

Speed limits are also in place around the junction, but changes to the traffic measures had to be made in November following complaints from motorists.

More than 640,000 tonnes of earth will be moved during the scheme to create two underpasses and two bridges.

Machines will dig up to 6.5m (21ft) beneath parts of the A11 and A47.

When the work is complete, a single-lane link road will connect the A11 northbound to the A47 eastbound via two underpasses.

About 12,000 vehicles a day will be diverted away from the roundabout.

Stout said the new junction would improve routes to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and local businesses.

The government has said the new junction will provide the infrastructure for 44,000 new homes to be built and enable 33,000 extra jobs in the area.

Lightwood said the work would also make journeys smoother.

"The ability to unlock new homes and unlock more jobs was critical in successfully funding this scheme," he said.

"My plea to people is [to] be patient, and it's very much a case of short-term pain but long-term gain."

Road improvement packages for the A11 and A47 were originally announced in 2014 by then Prime Minister David Cameron.

Daniel Elmer, Conservative leader of South Norfolk Council, said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to see a project that is going to speed up commuter times, but also bring thousands of jobs to Norfolk, go ahead."

"But we must not minimise the pain... to residents right now."

The scheme is due to finish in spring 2028 - and is one of three major road projects currently under way in Norfolk.

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