Opening of £47m bypass hailed as 'historic day'

The new bypass runs to the east of Long Stratton, Norfolk

A town's long-awaited bypass has opened to motorists as a £46.9m project moves into its final stages.

The new section of the A140 around the town of Long Stratton, Norfolk, can now be used as the final elements are put into place before the end of the year.

Work on the road started in April 2024 and was previewed by cyclists and pedestrians during a community open day at the start of August.

County councillor for the town, Alison Thomas, called it a "historic day" and added that she had "campaigned for this new road for many years and I'm delighted to see the project now moving ever closer to completion".

The new road is 2.4 miles (3.9km) long and local people have been asking for their high street to be bypassed for decades

It follows the end of roadworks which have required recent closures of the A140, the main road between Norwich and Ipswich.

The road is east of the town and stretches from a new roundabout to the north, at the Church Lane junction, for 2.4 miles (3.9km) before rejoining the existing A140 to the south.

Norfolk County Council said the new Hall Lane bridge - which would carry traffic and pedestrians over the bypass - will also come into use at the end of the week if final surfacing work was completed as planned.

Access to the town is from the northern end of the bypass to start with as a temporary closure at Parkers Lane allows for junction realignment work at the southern end of the bypass.

Alison Thomas attended the Long Stratton Bypass community open day at the start of this month

Ms Thomas added: "This is a historic day for the town and I look forward to seeing all of the benefits it brings to our residents and across the whole region once complete."

The county council has collaborated with South Norfolk Council and Norfolk Homes on the bypass, partly to allow for the growth of housing and employment in the area.

An outline business case approved by the Department for Transport (DfT) in July 2021 estimated the overall cost would be £37.44m but this rose to £46.9m due to issues including delays and inflation.

The DfT has covered 70% of the cost and the remainder has been sourced locally, including from developer contributions and £14.5m from the Greater Norwich Growth Board.