HIGHWAYS AGENCY News Release issued 17 January 2013

- Access to the B1112 from the A11 suspended for underpass construction -

During January, there will be a number of overnight closures of the A11 ahead of the main construction starting for the A11 Fiveways to Thetford improvement scheme.

Weather permitting, the full overnight closures, which start from Monday 21 January, will allow the Highways Agency to safely install traffic management alongside the A11. This includes temporary safety barriers, which will provide protection for the workforce and road users.

Starting on Monday 21 January, the A11 will be closed in both directions from 8pm to 6am the following morning for five consecutive nights, between the Fiveways roundabout at Barton Mills and the B1106 junction at Elveden. Clearly signed diversion routes will direct road users via the A1065, B1106 and B1107.

Additionally, the B1112 is due to be closed for up to 18 months from 21 January at 7pm to allow for the construction of a new underpass to carry the B1112 under the A11. The road will be closed on a 500-metre stretch on either side of the A11 and there will be no access between the B1112 and the A11. In addition, from 6am on 22 January, there will be a localised 40mph speed restriction on the A11 near the B1112 crossroads.

Traffic wishing to access the A1101 or the A1065 from the A11 will be diverted via the Fiveways roundabout. The B1112 will remain open for local access at the A1065 near Eriswell and the A1101 near Icklingham and a temporary 40mph speed restriction will be in place along the B1112 for safety reasons.

Highways Agency project manager Geoff Chatfield, said:

“The work we are carrying out on the A11 between 21 and 26 January will allow us to finalise preparations on the site ahead of the main construction work. These activities require carriageway closures, so we have planned the work for overnight when traffic flows are lower. However, we ask drivers to plan ahead, allow extra time for their journeys and follow any clearly signed diversion routes.”

For more information about the scheme and to register for regular updates, visit www​.highways​.gov​.uk/​r​o​a​d​s​/​p​r​o​j​e​c​t​s​/​4​2​4​8​.​a​spx. Road users can also call the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000 or follow @HAtraffic_east on Twitter for the latest travel information.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Highways Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. We manage, maintain and improve England’s motorways and trunk roads on behalf of the Secretary of State.

2. Maintenance and improvement projects: We plan maintenance and improvement projects carefully to allow road works to be completed safely, in a cost effective way while keeping disruption to road users to a minimum. We do as much work as possible overnight and when roads are less busy in order to keep more lanes open for road users at peak travel times. Drivers are advised to check their route for road works and allow extra time for their journeys where needed. We have a variety of journey planning tools that road users can use to check travel conditions on the roads we manage, and we will do all we can to keep road users informed.

3. Real-time traffic information for England’s motorways and other strategic roads is available:

- From the web at www​.highways​.gov​.uk/​t​r​a​f​fic

- By phone from the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000 at any time. (Calls to 0300 numbers will cost no more than 5p per minute from a standard BT residential landline. Call charges from other landlines and mobile networks may vary, but will be no more than a standard geographic call and will be included in all inclusive minutes and discount schemes). Make sure it’s safe and legal before you call. Before using any mobile, find a safe place to park. Never stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway except in an emergency.

- On an iPhone app which will automatically select the region you are in. Free to download from the iTunes store or search for Highways Agency on your device.

- From Twitter – there are eight feeds with live traffic information provided by region. For information on roads in the East of England follow us at @HAtraffic_east or for the full index visit www​.highways​.gov​.uk/​t​w​i​t​ter.

4. Receive our national and regional press releases by RSS and get the latest headlines straight to your desktop the moment we publish them to our website. Choose to receive a national press feed or one of our regionalised feeds - go to www​.highways​.gov​.uk/​r​s​s​n​ews for more information.

Issued by Regional News Network East on behalf of the Highways Agency. For further information please contact Valerie Amar-Matthews or Roger Eustis on 01223 370780. Media enquiries out of hours should be made to the Highways Agency National Press Office (24hrs) on 0844 693 1448.

Contacts:

Valerie Amar-Matthews.
Phone: 01223 370 788
valerie.​amar-​matthews@​co.​gsi.​gov.​uk

RNN East
Phone: 01223 370 780
cambridge@​co.​gsi.​gov.​uk