The B1149 Holt Road will reopen at3.29pm today (Thursday 6 October) after the early completion of service diversion and tree clearance work for construction of Norwich Northern Distributor Road.
This first phase of Holt Road service diversion work involved the insertion of a sleeve for the diversion of a water main and irrigation pipe. The second phase (see below) will be to insert a sleeve for the diversion of a major gas main. Attempts to carry out the work in August under two-way traffic lights had to be abandoned because the depth of the gas main and position of the fragile asbestos cement water main required deeper excavations under full closures of the B1149 Holt Road.
This week’s phase one road closure was also used for tree felling and site clearance at the site of a new roundabout that will connect Holt Road to a realigned Drayton Lane. Once complete, the new Drayton Lane will provide the main route south from Horsford for all B1149 traffic.
Phase two of service diversions will begin on Monday 10 October, with Holt Road closing between Holly Lane and the Holt Road/Cromer Road roundabout at 9.30am, after the morning peak. The new point of closure will allow access in and out of Horsford via Holly Lane, as well as Church Street.
During this second phase, the traffic lights that have been in use at each end of Church Street will be withdrawn.
Although Holly Lane will provide an additional route in and out of Horsford, both Church Street and Holly Lane will be under pressure at morning and evening peak. Traffic from further afield should avoid using the B1149 through Horsford. There are number of points where congestion or queues could build up:
Morning peak. Norwich-bound traffic using Church Street will have a right turn across the busy A140. Traffic choosing Holly Lane will have an easy right turn from Holt Road (the closure stopping traffic from the south), and a left turn on to Reepham Road towards Norwich, or across the staggered junction into Hall Lane towards Drayton and the A1067.
Traffic heading east along Holly Lane to join the A140 Cromer Road will have to divert via Church Street.
Evening peak. Traffic returning to Horsford from Norwich on Reepham Road will have a right turn into Holly Lane, and will have to contend with traffic crossing from Hall Lane.
Access from Holly Lane to Horsford also means that the route from Norwich using the A140 and Church Street includes a live junction where it meets Holt Road (this is not the case under the phase 1 closure).
Bus services. First 36 will return to its normal route. Sanders services will continue as during the phase 1 closure of Holt Road.
