Highways England has released maps showing its plans on how it will dual sections of the A47.

The agency first announced its preferred option for dualling the five miles of the A47 between North Tuddenham to Easton and adding two new junctions in August 2017, as part of a £300 million series of upgrades along the A47 corridor.

The multi-million pound plan will save commuters up to seven minutes on journeys, improve safety and will boost the economy.

Following a previous consultation, the option selected will see a new dual carriageway built between North Tuddenham and Easton, which roughly follows the route of the existing A47.

The improvement includes over five miles of new dual carriageway with two new junctions at the Wood Lane/Berry's Lane and Norwich Road/Blind Lane junctions, alongside the removal of the Easton roundabout.

Now, Highways England is encouraging drivers, local people and business owners to share their views on the plans and has released the maps of the proposed routes.Highways England programme lead for the A47, Peter Havlicek, said: "The A47 is a key route connecting East Anglia with the Midlands, and upgrading key sections of it will help with economic growth of the region and keep the county connected.

"The new dual carriageway will improve safety along this part of the A47, as the current road has an average of 14 crashes a year.

"It will also increase capacity, making journey times more reliable and safer by connecting local roads via the new junctions rather than turning directly on to the A47.

"There will be new side roads and parts of the existing A47 will be kept open for local traffic including walkers, cyclists and horse riders, and as a local access road to the new junctions."

Mr Havlicek said: "People can take part in numerous ways, and we'll be hosting several events for them to come and talk with the team to share their thoughts, concerns and feedback.

"This upgraded section of the A47 is one of six schemes we'll be doing to improve the A47 between Peterborough and Great Yarmouth and it's important that we get it right for road users and the people who live along this vital road."

Once complete by the end of 2024, this improved A47 will improve journey times between the Drayton Hall Lane and Watton Road junctions by up to six minutes for the 40,000 drivers who use it daily, while reducing journey times between the Longwater and Fox junctions by seven minutes.

Have your say on dualling the A47:

You can take part in the consultation, which runs from Wednesday, February 26 until Wednesday, April 8 by visiting www.highwaysengland.co.uk/A47NT-E or by writing to Freepost A47 Tuddenham.

There will also be six public exhibitions where you can have your say and speak with members of the team. These will be at:

- North Tuddenham Village Hall, Fox Lane, North Tuddenham, Dereham, NR20 3DH, on Thursday, February 27. 1pm to 8pm.

- Hockering Village Hall, 3 Heath Road, Dereham NR20 3HT, on Friday, February 28, from 1pm to 8pm.

- East Tuddenham Village Hall, Mattishall Road, East Tuddenham, Dereham, NR20 3LR, on Monday, March 2, from 1pm to 8pm.

- Honingham Village Hall, 31 Dereham Road, Honingham, Norwich, NR9 5AP, on Tuesday, March 3, from 1pm to 8pm.

- Easton Village Hall, Marlingford Road, Easton, Norwich, NR9 5AD, on Wednesday, March 4, from 1pm to 8pm.

- Norwich City Centre, The Assembly House, Theatre Street, Norwich, NR2 1RQ, on Saturday, March 7, from 10am to 4pm.