Great Yarmouth third river crossing: Road upgrades close to completion

The council hopes the new crossing will mean quicker journeys between Gorleston and Great Yarmouth

Engineers are due to finish upgrading a series of roads in early 2023 as part of a major river crossing project.

The £120m bascule bridge, which will be the third river crossing in Great Yarmouth, will link the A47 with the town's port.

Contractors have built the two bascule chambers and new flood defences.

Norfolk County Council said all the upgrades to Southgates Road and South Denes Road, east of the river, will be completed next.

The embankments were built using sand and soil from a former World War One runway

Money for the project was granted in the government's Autumn Budget in 2017

"[We] are very pleased with progress to date and acknowledge the monumental effort from many organisations throughout the planning, funding, design and construction stages," said the council's project manager Tim Ellis.

"However, our greatest acknowledgement and biggest thank you is to the residents and businesses that are adjacent to the project during construction."

The road upgrades will include new cycle routes, a change to the one-way systems and new traffic signage.

The county council said upgrades east of the river, to Southgates Road and South Denes Road, will be completed in the early part of 2023

The bridge leaves are due to be installed in the spring using a large crane operated from the river

An illustrative design of an open view of the bridge, with counterweights above the bridge

The council said the installation of the two main bridge leaves via a large crane from the river - and completion of a new roundabout at William Adams Way - were expected in the spring.

The bridge is expected to open in the summer.

The embankments were built using thousands of tonnes of sand and soil from a former World War One runway nearby.