Norfolk County Council has won £3.05 million of government funding to replace a busy staggered crossroads on the A140 at Hempnall between Norwich and Ipswich with a roundabout.
The Department for Transport made the announcement yesterday to award the money to the County Council from its National Productivity Investment Fund.
People who use the current junction often experience queuing and long delays, particularly on the B1527 to Hempnall, and it is expected that the new roundabout will address this, leading to shorter journey times and less congestion.
The existing junction also has a poor accident record, with eight accidents in the last five years which resulted in 11 casualties and two categorised as serious. These were linked to traffic turning onto the A140 from the minor roads and the replacement roundabout will eliminate this issue and should therefore significantly improve the safety of the junction for all road users.
Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:
“This is a key business and commuter route between Norwich and Ipswich and any improvements that will make the journey easier and safer are to be welcomed. Infrastructure improvements are at the top of many businesses list of barriers to growth – so this announcement is another win for Norfolk and will help boost jobs and economic growth.”
Martin Wilby, Chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Environment, Development and Transport Committee, said:
“It’s fantastic that we’ve won this money for Norfolk. Better road and transport links are vital to the county, leading to a better quality of life for people living and working here, improving road safety and attracting new investment and more jobs.
“This is a junction that is clearly in great need of improvement and I’m really pleased we’ve managed to convince central government of this. I’m proud and grateful to all those who have helped to secure this funding.” Other benefits the roundabout will provide that helped Norfolk County Council secure funding from central government include supporting better regional transport connections, particularly between Norwich and Ipswich, and providing additional road capacity for proposed development nearby at Long Stratton which is set to include up to 1,800 new homes.
The total cost of constructing the roundabout is estimated to be £4.36 million, with the remainder of the money for the project set to come principally from developer funding. Work to construct the roundabout, subject to planning permission, is planned to begin in autumn 2019 for an opening in early summer 2020.
