Highways Agency

The Project

The Agency has completed further investigation into widening or dualling of the Acle Straight. This introduction gives details of the background to the work and how copies of a report on the work can be obtained.

The Transport White Paper "A new Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone" and its accompanying document "A New Deal for Transport", (both published in July 1998) set out new objectives and priorities to make better use of existing roads and to give greater emphasis to environmental and safety issues.

These policy documents determined that the most serious and pressing problems on trunk roads would be tackled through a carefully Targeted Programme of Improvements and where roads did not appear in the programme a series of studies would be undertaken aimed at addressing the most pressing outstanding problems.

One of these studies was the A47 Norwich to Great Yarmouth Road Based Study, which was remitted to consider solutions to congestion and safety on the single carriageway sections of the route and the associated poor access/unreliable journey times to the ports of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. That study was concluded in 2001 with a series of recommendations.

Reviewing the recommendations of the study, John Spellar, the then Minister for Transport concluded that, with the exception of the A47 Acle Straight, the recommended Preferred Plan was consistent with the emerging regional transport plan for the East of England and should therefore be supported.

In respect to the Acle Straight, the study raised a number of issues which the Minister considered required further investigation before a decision could be taken on whether or not to improve this section of the A47. Accordingly, the Highways Agency was asked to carry out further work.

The Agency was asked to undertake:

• Investigate the condition and stability of the embankment of carrying the A47 across the Acle Straight including the land-take required for dualling or widening and the need or otherwise to reconstruct the existing embankment.
• Investigate the practicalities of managing existing traffic during construction of either widening or dualling options, an assessment of the resultant economic impact of delays during construction and the overall economic performance of the alternative options.
• Undertake a Full Environmental Assessments for both widening and dualling options.

This work has been completed. If you would like a copy of a CD detailing the findings, please email Amanda.Nunns@highways.gsi.gov.uk or telephone 01234 796267.

Alternatively hard copies of the report can be viewed at the following locations:

Reception Norfolk County Council Offices, County Hall, Norwich
Reception Great Yarmouth Borough Offices
Acle Library
Town Hall Great Yarmouth