Roads will be closed from next month to pave the way for work to build a new £46.9m Norfolk bypass.

Work on the Long Stratton Bypass is due to start next spring, but, ahead of that, Norfolk County Council needs to shut a number of roads between January and March.

That is so contractors can clear vegetation so construction of the new two-and-a-half-mile A140 bypass can begin.

The council says Church Lane, Edges Lane, Hall Lane and Parkers Lane will all have to be temporary closed at various stages between Monday, January 8 and Friday, March 29.

A layby on the A140 Ipswich Road, north of Wild Rose Farm, will also have to be shut.

The council says it cannot give exact dates for when the roads will be closed, but that diversions will be in place and it will give notification before they shut.

The government has just confirmed the legal orders needed to construct the new road, after the council's cabinet last month approved recommendations to submit the final full business case for the scheme.

The single-carriageway road would extend east of Long Stratton from a new junction at Church Lane to rejoin the existing A140 near Oakside farm.

Eastern Daily Press: Graham Plant, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transportGraham Plant, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport (Image: Norfolk County Council)

Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure at Norfolk County Council, said: “This latest confirmation by government provides further confidence in the project and combined with recent cabinet decisions puts us in the strongest possible position to deliver this vital new infrastructure without delay.

“The bypass is set to create hundreds of new jobs and homes, open up improvements for cycling and walking, and solve transport issues local people have been facing for more than a generation."

READ MORE: Norwich Western Link road gets government go-ahead

The government announced in 2021 that it would give £26.2m towards the road, only for the bill to subsequently rise from £37.4m to £46.2m and now to £46.9m.

The county council is hoping the government's decision to scrap part of the HS2 rail link will make more money available to plug a £6m budget gap, but millions could have to be borrowed if that is not forthcoming.

Once the main work to build the bypass begins, council officers anticipate it would take 18 months, with the road open to traffic by the end of 2025.