Drivers and other road users are facing disruption and diversions around Norwich this month, as a multi-million pound power project and more than £500,000 worth of resurfacing work get under way on the city's streets.
But energy bosses and council leaders say the pain will be worth it, with better surfaces and more reliable electricity supplies for homes and businesses.
UK Power Networks will tomorrow (Monday, March 4) start a £3m project, which will see roads dug up to reinforce underground cables. It begins at Galley Hill, Mile Cross, which will shut at the junction with Drayton Road for eight days.
On Wednesday, a section of footpath and cycleway in Hellesdon Road, from the junction with Marl Pit Lane, will shut for 11 days. Two days later Hellesdon Road will shut at the Dereham Road junction for six days.
Jex Road will close at the Marl Pit Lane junction for four days from Monday, March 11, while Marl Pit Lane will shut at the junction with Knowland Grove for eight days from Friday, March 29.
Ivan Churchman, UK Power Networks project manager, said the work was part of the company's £600m annual investment plans to upgrade and maintain a safe and reliable network
He said: 'This is a major investment for the local area and aims to effectively provide more resilience, capacity for growth and to future-proof the area to meet local demand for power.
'As a company we work to reduce the number of power cuts and although they will still happen occasionally for a range of reasons, we are confident this work will help significantly to reduce those in future.
'We recognise there will be some disturbance while this work is taking place and we will do everything possible to keep any possible inconvenience to an absolute minimum.'
Norfolk County Council is carrying out resurfacing work.
Hall Road will shut between the roundabout near B&Q and Fountains Road from 7pm tomorrow night until 6am. It will shut at the same time on Tuesday and Wednesday for the work, which will cost £114,000.
Reepham Road, in Hellesdon, will shut from 9am and 4pm near the Boundary junction on Thursday and near the Middletons Lane roundabout the next day. That resurfacing work will cost £82.000.
It will come from the extra £12.7m which the county council received from the government to spend on road maintenance in 2018/19.
Four days of resurfacing work at Three Score Road and Bishy Barnebee Way roundabouts in Bowthorpe will start on Monday, March 11. That work will cost £90,000.
Phase one, on March 11/12, will focus on the Three Score/Dodderman Way/Tollgate Way roundabout will mean Dodderman Way is shut at the roundabout, with temporary traffic signals for traffic using Tollgate Way and Three Score Road.
Phase two, on March 13/14, will see the Three Score Road/Chapel Break Road/Bishy Barnebee Way roundabout resurfaced. The roundabout will be shut during the work.
Work to resurface Norwich's Waterworks Road will begin on Monday, March 18. It will close for three days for the £83,000 resurfacing work, to a section from Half Moon Way to Old Laundry Court.
And Norwich's City Road will be closed for two consecutive weekends, firstly, on Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24, close to Belville Crescent and then near Jubilee Terrace on Saturday, March 30 and Sunday, March 31.
That work will cost £154,000, with diversions via Queens Road, Hall Road and Barrett Road.
Martin Wilby, chairman of Norfolk County Council's environment, development and transport committee, said: 'This is about making sure we use our money in the best possible way to maintain our roads for the long-term future.'
The roadworks come at a time when Cattle Market Street in Norwich has been closed in one direction for a Transport for Norwich scheme.
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