Motorways and strategic A roads could be completely out of action for up to two weeks under plans to shorten the impact of roadworks.
National Highways project managers are being given more leeway to consider a full closure approach as part of the planning for forthcoming schemes on the strategic road network.
The government-owned company announced that plans were being drawn up to 'complete major improvements to the A47/A11 junction outside Norwich via one full nine-day closure and a limited number of overnight closures using innovative off-site construction methods'.
The alternative, National Highways said, was almost three years of lane closures, contraflows and 30mph speed limits.
Currently, most work on the strategic network is carried out during multiple overnight or weekend closures of roads. National Highways also makes use of lane closures to complete schemes while keeping roads partially open.
Local communities will be consulted prior to any full closure and project leaders will consider the appropriateness of diversion routes and the impact on homes, businesses, hospitals and nearby events before doing so, National Highways said.
'Full road closures of roads – normally for a maximum of two weeks – will remain the exception rather than the norm' it added.
Laura Baker, customer service director for major projects, said: 'We already aim to carry out this work in the least disruptive way possible by prioritising times when traffic levels are low, including overnight and at weekends. However, prolonged roadworks can be stressful for drivers and local communities so we’re committed to exploring other ways to further minimise the impact.'
National Highways does already employ full closures in a limited number of schemes - for instance, the construction of a new bridge (pictured) over the M42 as part of the HS2 rail scheme is being carried out through two closures of the busy motorway over consecutive Christmas periods in 2021 and 2022 when traffic is lightest.
The move was among a number of changes to improve customer satisfaction with roadworks and ease congestion around them.
National Highways also announced a wider roll-out of the 'Highest Safe Speed' approach to roadworks – often involving 60mph speed limits past work sites, up from 50mph previously.
This approach was first introduced two years ago and has already been adopted for most major schemes but will be expanded to smaller-scale projects in 2022/3 where it is deemed safe. National Highways said 'detailed assessments showed it led to journey time savings as well as greater compliance with the new limit'.
Other measures include:
- building more structures off-site and then lifting them onto the road
- a new approach to diversion routes, with a customer-focused toolkit issued to project teams and new signs due to be trialled on the network
- improved roadside communication to drivers, including more detailed information on electronic message boards
- new guidance to project teams to declutter work sites at roadsides, including the removal of signage deemed unnecessary
- enhanced self-service reporting tools to enable drivers, passengers, local communities and businesses to more easily report issues on the network
