Norfolk County Council and Balfour Beatty confirmed this week that the westernmost section of the A1270 Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NDR), between the A1067 Fakenham Road and the A140 Cromer Road, will open to traffic on Saturday 11 November.
The opening depends upon completion of the A140 Cromer Road junction with the NDR under a series of overnight closures* (8pm to 6am) starting on Monday, 30 October, but the joint Balfour Beatty and County Council construction team is confident that the final surfacing and tie-in of the junction roundabouts and slip roads will be complete in time.
The opening of the 6 km of dual carriageway from the Fakenham Road roundabout to the A140 junction will be carried out in the early hours of Saturday 11 November so that it will be open by 6am. This section of the route includes live roundabouts at Fir Covert Road, Reepham Road and Drayton Lane, and signs will be going up to warn drivers to expect traffic to be on the NDR.
For eastbound traffic (heading towards the A140 Cromer Road), the carriageway will be reduced to a single lane on the final section from Drayton Lane to the A140 Cromer Road. This is because it will all have to leave at the slip road to join the A140. Otherwise, the newly-opened road will be available as a normal part of the road network, with the national speed limit (70mph) on the dual carriageway.
Commenting on the early opening, Nova Fairbank from Norfolk Chamber said:
“Norfolk Chamber is looking forward to the early opening of the western section of the NDR. The building of the NDR is a clear signal that Norfolk is embracing growth and development in order to create the jobs and houses that our region needs. The local business community is awaiting the full completion of the NDR and being able to unlock the potential employment areas to the north of Norwich.”
Martin Wilby, Chairman of the County Council’s Environment, Development & Transport Committee, said:
“This is a terrific achievement and means that a significant part of the route will open to traffic around four months ahead of the original schedule. There’s growing confidence in the construction team that a further stretch all the way to the A1151 Wroxham Road will be open around Christmas or soon after the turn of the year, and that the whole of Norwich NDR will be open as planned in the Spring (2018).”
Chris Sedman, Balfour Beatty’s Norwich Northern Distributor Road Project Director, commented: “We are delighted to be completing the western section of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road ahead of schedule, which will deliver immediate benefits to the local community and travelling public including reduced congestion and a more streamlined route between the A1067 Fakenham Road and the A140 Cromer Road. We look forward to continuing our close partnership with Norfolk County Council to support the project’s strong progress as we work towards delivering the final sections of the new Norwich NDR.”
* Diversion Route: A140 traffic will be diverted (south to north) at the Boundary junction on Norwich Ring Road, along Reepham Road, New Drayton Lane, B1149 Holt Road and Shortthorn Road back to the A140. (Same route reversed for north-south traffic.)
