Dereham residents turns out in droves today to support and question Highways England's £300 million investment in the A47.
The works will begin in the 2019/20 financial year, and of the six improvement schemes announced, four will be on sections of the road in Norfolk.
Today at Dereham's Tesco Extra, a pop up tent was erected by the organisation, featuring an exhibition of the plans for upcoming major roadworks and staff available to talk to people about improvements to the A47.
Councillor Martin Wilby, chairman of the Environment, Development and Transport Committee for the Norfolk County Council said: 'It was a really good event. Plenty of people came along and not only did people come to ask questions, they came with concerns about the current maintenance of the A47.'
The four improvements which will be occurring in Norfolk are dualling the A47 North Tuddenham to Easton, dualling the A47 Blofield to North Burlingham, improving the A47/A11 Thickthorn junction, and improving A47 Great Yarmouth junctions including reconstruction of the Vauxhall Roundabout.
Mr Wilby continued: 'What was fantastic is that because Highways England was there they could show people that came along the plans they have for maintenance works coming up, and could show people a list of information.'
The confirmed improvements to the A47 are part of a longer scheme, which residents hope will see the whole of the A47 rejuvinated.
Mr Wilby continued: 'Getting the A47 improved so it can cope with the amount of traffic using it now but also in the future is vital to the county's success. It's the key that will unlock a lot of other investment, including attracting businesses and high-skilled jobs, and improving quality of life for those who use the route regularly.'
The Norfolk Councillor is hoping that once the work has started in 2020, another round of funding from central government will be able to fund the next series of improvements.
Mr Wilby said: 'The next things we'd like to see between 2020 and 2025 is the confirmation of the duelling of the Acle Straight, and the duelling of the A47 between Tilney and East Winch.'
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