The £47m Long Stratton bypass, which was built for Norfolk County Council by Octavius to cut ‘long-standing congestion' in Norwich, has officially opened.
Running from a new junction at Church Lane, the new A140 bypass is a 3.9km single carriageway road running along the east side of Long Stratton, re-joining the existing A140 south of Oakside farm.
Classified as priority infrastructure by Norfolk County Council, the scheme also featured two new bridges that are designed to provide foot and cycle routes into Long Stratton.
Most of the funding for the bypass was provided by the Department for Transport's (DfT) Major Road Network Fund, with further support coming from developer payments, the Community Infrastructure Levy and the Greater Norwich Growth Board.
Alongside the bypass, Octavius also delivered over £25m of social value for Norwich by using local sub-contractors and suppliers and also by participating in community initiatives over the two-year-long project.
Octavius also stated that it had achieved 8,821 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent savings while undertaking construction for the project.
Jamie Harrison, delivery director for Octavius' highways business, said: ‘Delivery of this project has been a success on so many levels. Significant social value has been created, meaningful carbon reductions achieved, and the project's goals fully realised.'
