People in Norfolk who support the need for upgrades to the A47 are being encouraged to go along to an event this Friday (21 July) to leave the organisation responsible for the road in no doubt of the local appetite for improvements.
Highways England, the government company charged with operating, maintaining and improving England’s motorways and major A roads including the A47, has announced it will be holding a roadshow event in a mobile unit at Tesco Extra on Kingston Road in Dereham on Friday between 12 and 7pm. As well as featuring an exhibition of plans for upcoming major roadworks in the region, Highways England staff will be available to talk to people about improvements to the A47.
Further Highways England roadshows are planned for later in the summer, including in King’s Lynn, Attleborough, Great Yarmouth and Hopton, so if people can’t make this Friday’s event in Dereham, there will be other opportunities to speak to Highways England in person to press the case for improvements to the A47. Further details on these events are expected to be announced shortly.
Highways England has announced £300 million of improvements to the A47 with works slated to start in 2019/20 financial year. Of the six schemes announced, four will be on sections of the road in Norfolk. These are:
- Dualling the A47 North Tuddenham to Easton;
- Dualling the A47 Blofield to North Burlingham;
- Improving the A47/A11 Thickthorn junction;
- Improving A47 Great Yarmouth junctions including reconstruction of the Vauxhall Roundabout.
Norfolk County Council welcomed the announcement of this investment and has offered to work with Highways England to ensure the work can get under way at the earliest opportunity. As part of its role on the A47 Alliance, a campaigning group that brings together the business community, local authorities, MPs and others, Norfolk County Council is pushing for central government to commit to making further improvements to the route with an ultimate goal to see the whole of the road dualled.
Martin Wilby, Chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Environment, Development and Transport Committee and Chairman of the A47 Alliance, said: “We need to take every opportunity to bang the drum for investment in the A47, and there is no doubt the message comes across much louder and clearer when you hear it from the many rather than the few. Please help us, if you can, to show the strength of local feeling on the subject.
“We’re making improvements and working on transport projects on roads that the County Council is responsible for that will help to ease traffic congestion, make roads safer and shorten journey times. However getting the A47 improved so it can cope with the amount of traffic using it now but also in the future is vital to the county’s success. It’s the key that will unlock a lot of other investment, including attracting businesses and high-skilled jobs, and improving quality of life for those who use the route regularly.”
The A47 Alliance agreed its priorities for securing further improvements along the route earlier this year. The schemes in Norfolk that have been identified as a priority are dualling the Acle Straight between Acle and Great Yarmouth and dualling the A47 Tilney to East Winch, including the Hardwick flyover, south of King’s Lynn.
For more information on the Highways England roadshows, visit www.gov.uk/government/news/road-show-to-show-you-road-works. For more information on the A47 Alliance, visit www.a47alliance.co.uk
