Speed cameras now in place on A47 Acle Straight after delay

The ground conditions along the road between Acle and Great Yarmouth meant National Highways engineers faced "challenges" in getting the cameras in place as part of a £2m safety scheme for the 6.8-mile road.

The Acle Straight (Image: Denise Bradley)

The speed limit had already been cut from 60mph to 50mph. But the average speed cameras - which use automatic number plate reading to record speed between points - were due to be put in place by the summer to catch drivers and act as a deterrent to speeding.

But the cameras were only put in this week, after work had to be done to shore up the foundations, to make them stable.

Adrian Clothier, engineering team manager at National Highways, which has responsibility for the road, said: “We have overcome some challenges around the poor ground conditions when installing the new speed cameras.”

He said while the cameras on tall yellow frames were now in place, they still need to be calibrated.

But he added: “The 50mph limit, however, is in place and is enforceable by the police.”

Average speed cameras are now in place on the A47 Acle Straight (Image: Dan Grimmer)

Four speed cameras have now been put in place - one near the Vauxhall Holiday Park on the approach to Great Yarmouth and one near the Acle Roundabout.

The other two are near the Halvergate junction and midway between there and the Vauxhall roundabout.

Consultation over the reduced limit took place last year.

Since May, there have been a series of overnight road closures on the road, so resurfacing work could be done.

Resurfacing work on the Acle Straight (Image: National Highways)

Between 2017 and 2021 there were 54 crashes on the Acle Straight, with 138 people hurt.

The reduced speed limit will add just under a minute and a half to journeys along the road. However, campaigners say the long-term solution to make the Acle Straight safer is to dual it.

While sections of the A47 between Blofield and Burlingham and from Easton to North Tuddenham are being dualled, and the Thickthorn junction is to be revamped, the Acle Straight remains single carriageway.

That is despite decades of calls from campaigners.

The road is considered particularly dangerous because cars involved in crashes can end up submerged in the water-filled dykes next to the carriageway.

Part of the reason for the lack of plans to dual the road is because the low-lying land around the road is one of the few habitats of the Little Whirlpool Ramshorn Snail - which are on an international 'red list' of endangered species.

Because the miniscule molluscs are so rare they are protected by law, so National Highways has to ensure any work does not threaten them further.

Efforts have been made to relocate the snails away from the A47 to another part of the marshes - with the success of the move crucial if the road is ever to be dualled.