UK A47 North Tuddenham to Easton Dualling Project to Open Western Section Within the Year

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 15, the UK A47 North Tuddenham to Easton dualling project announced its latest construction milestone, with the new road between the western end of the project and Wood Lane scheduled to open to traffic before the end of 2026. Once this section is opened, approximately half of the project route will be in traffic operation, while the full project is still planned to be completed and opened in 2027. The project is being delivered by National Highways, with Galliford Try as the contractor.

The project is located in Norfolk, England, with a total length of approximately 5.5 miles, or about 9 kilometers. It mainly involves converting the existing single-carriageway A47 into a dual two-lane road, and improving junctions, local access roads, bridges, culverts, drainage, and traffic safety facilities between North Tuddenham and Easton. Upon completion, a continuous dual-carriageway section will be formed between Norwich and Dereham. National Highways currently lists the project investment range at £100 million to £250 million.

In early August 2026, the project completed the demolition of Easton Roundabout and a traffic switch, with eastbound and westbound vehicles beginning to use the newly built dual carriageway in that area. In September, construction further shifted to the section from Honingham Roundabout to Wood Lane Junction. Construction of the new junction and access roads was scheduled for nighttime work from September 17 to 19, providing conditions for the subsequent traffic switch on the western section.

Bridge works have also entered the later stage. In May, Galliford Try completed the installation of the final batch of main beams for the project's largest bridge, the River Tud crossing. The operation used a 500-tonne crawler crane, with each group of reinforced beams weighing more than 120 tonnes. The project had previously completed the main structure works for several bridges, while the remaining road structures, pavement, and connection works continued in parallel.

During construction, the project also built the new Lyng Road junction and local road connection system, and reconnected roads along the route such as Mattishall Lane and Wood Lane. At the end of May this year, National Highways implemented a full weekend closure to complete the connection between the new Lyng Road junction and the local access road, and to advance preparatory works ahead of the demolition of Easton Roundabout.

According to the construction progress previously published by Galliford Try, by the end of 2025 the project had completed 3 bridges, with another 4 bridges entering the construction stage. After the completion of the main beam installation for the River Tud crossing structure in 2026, the main structural works continued to advance toward road paving, junction switches, drainage, slopes, and ancillary facilities construction.