27 March 2015
Postwick Hub – Update No. 19
A47 Road Closures for bridge works
Closures of the A47 to enable the installation of the beams for the new bridge have been
confirmed.
The A47 will be closed at Postwick on a series of weekends (see dates below) to
allow eight bridge beams to be lifted into place, the largest of which will be 50 metres in
length (which is about the same as half the length of a football pitch!)
The three-span bridge is being constructed as part of the Postwick Hub junction
improvement. There will be four beams on the centre span and two each for the north and
south spans. Each beam weighs 71 tonnes and a 1000T crane is being brought in to lift
them on to the newly-constructed bridge piers.
Page 1 of 8
Subject to no unexpected delay in the manufacture and delivery of the beams, the lifts
are scheduled to take place on the weekends of:
• Friday 17 April to Monday 20 April,
• Friday 24 April to Monday 27 April,
• No closure on the weekend of the Early May Bank Holiday (Monday 4 May).
• Friday 8 May to Monday 11 May
Warning signs about the closures will be placed as far away as Newmarket bypass and
King's Lynn to give motorists a chance to change their route.
Traffic that cannot avoid this section of the A47 will be diverted around the closure using
the slip roads. Motorists are warned to expect significant delays at times. While these are
relatively short diversions, they involve a number of roundabouts, potential delays during
beam movements, and a 30mph speed limit throughout.
Aerial photograph below of the East/West and North /South link Road which will be the
diversion route for Eastbound traffic during the closure.
Photograph courtesy of Mike Page
Eastbound (towards Great Yarmouth) A47 traffic will be diverted on to the new access
roads that will serve the expanded Broadland Business Park and new Broadland Gate
business areas. This route will include five roundabouts before traffic rejoins the A47.
Page 2 of 8
Westbound (towards Dereham and King's Lynn) A47 traffic will have a shorter diversion,
but this will pass through works on the new Oaks Lane roundabout and the major junction
at the southern end of the existing and new (under construction) bridges over the A47.
Pedestrian and cycle access across the existing bridge over the A47 will be maintained,
but vehicles will be prohibited from stopping on the bridge which is not suitable as a
viewing point for the beam installations.
The closures and diversions will be lifted no later than 6am each Monday morning after
each weekend beam lift, earlier if possible.
Above plan showing the ‘up & over’ diversion routes for the A47
Postwick Park & Ride site will remain closed on these weekends to reduce pressure on
the diversion routes, and because reliable running of the buses will sometimes be
impossible to achieve. The nearest alternative site is Harford P&R off the A47/A140
roundabout.
A1042 Existing bridge will be closed Southbound into Postwick during the weekend to
traffic. Provision has also been made within the traffic orders to close the A1042
Northbound over the existing bridge if required due to traffic congestion on the A47.
Page 3 of 8
Diversions will be via Trowse/A47 for Northbound traffic and Cucumber roundabout for
local Postwick traffic. Buses, Pedestrians and cyclists will be escorted through the
closure.
Peachman Way will be closed at the roundabout with Broadland Way with access/
egress being via the Green Lane/Smee Lane roundabout.
Weekend 1 (17-20 April)
South span beam lift and installation. The westbound (towards Dereham and King's Lynn)
carriageway will close at 8pm Friday 17 April.
A single lane of the eastbound (towards Great Yarmouth) carriageway will remain open
until 11pm to allow football traffic to clear.
The crane will be positioned behind the south pier of the new bridge and will be able to lift
the four south span beams directly from the compound.
Road to reopen no later than 6am Monday 17 April.
Weekend 2 (24-27 April)
North span beam lift and installation. Full closure of the A47 at 8pm Friday 24 April.
The crane will be set up and rigged on the eastbound carriageway with beam lifting
commencing on Saturday morning, 25 April.
There will be significant delays on the westbound diversion route when the four pairs
of beams are moved out of the compound down the westbound slip road on to the
westbound carriageway. Each beam will take around 20 minutes to move into place for
the crane lift.
Road to reopen no later than 6am Monday 27 April
Weekend 3 (8-11 May)
Centre span beam lift and installation. Full closure of the A47 at 8pm Friday 8 May.
The main crane will be set up on the eastbound carriageway, on the west side of the
bridge, to lift the first two central pairs of beams into place. The crane will then be derigged, moved to the other side of the bridge, on the westbound carriageway to place the
final two pairs of beams.
Road to reopen no later than 6am Monday 11 May.
Overnight closures of the A47 in between the 3 weekend closures will be required in order
to complete the previous weekend work and prepare for the next weekend beam lift.
There will also be a number of overnight closures through the summer to complete work
to the new and existing bridges over the A47. These will be publicised once the dates are
confirmed.
Page 4 of 8
Work has continued on the bridge in preparation for the placing of the beams (photograph
below) with the installation of the new bearings on which the new beams will sit once in
their final position.
.
Page 5 of 8
Photograph above shows the new asphalt base layer being laid on the new Eastbound
‘On’ slip road in preparation for the road closures.
View looking East from the new ‘on slip to the A47.
Page 6 of 8
General Traffic Management
A47 Westbound – No planned restrictions
A47 Eastbound – Possible Overnight closure commencing 13 April, dates will be
advertised on site.
l
A1042 Yarmouth Road single way working, two way traffic lights manually operated at
peak times.
Temporary roundabout layout will remain in place at the entrance to the park & ride site.
Broadland Way / Peachman Way roundabout localised lane narrowing.
50mph temporary speed limits in force on the East and Westbound carriageways for the
duration of the works. 30mph limits in force on A1042 and Broadland Way.
Oaks Lane is closed. Diversion route, A1042 Yarmouth Road, C440 Brundall Low Rd,
C440 Church Rd, U59404 Cullings Hill.
Attached at the end of the Newsletter are extracts from the Contractors ‘timeline’
programme weeks 40 to 50 (currently at week 44), now showing the new link road that
will be used as a diversion route to enable the construction of the new ‘off’ slip road.
This and future newsletters, together with timings of the different stages of Traffic
Management during the works, can be viewed on the County Councils website, please
see below.
For Further Information
Further information on traffic management during the works and updates on progress can
be found on Norfolk County Council website. www.norfolk.gov.uk, click here.
Live roadworks information can be viewed on the County Council's website here, or from
'Roadworks' in the A-Z of Services.
Twitter @BB_PostwickHub
Tim Ellis, Deputy Project Manager, on 07885 579597, or
Norfolk County Council highways enquiries on 0344 800 8020
Lucy Washington – Randall
[email protected]
Birse Civils General Enquiries 0800 0329760
Page 7 of 8
Commentary
Commentary::
@
@ Wk
Wk _40
_40
Link
LinkRoad
Road --OPEN
OPEN
Legend
Legend ::
New
Newbridge
bridge––
North
NorthAbutment
Abutment
North
NorthPier
Pier
South
Abutment
South Abutment….
….
Current
CurrentRoad
Road––remaining
remaining
Current
CurrentRoad
Road––replaced
replaced
Stats
Stats diversions
diversions….
….
Current
CurrentTrunk
TrunkRoad
Road––A47
A47
Diverge
DivergeTaper
Taper……
New
NewRoad
Road––under
under
construction
construction
P&R
P&RJunction
Junctionreconfiguration
reconfiguration....
South
Southembankment
embankment……
Heath
Heath
Farm
Farm
Project
Project
Office
Office
P&R
P&RExtension
Extension––Main
Main works
works
….
….
Broadland
Broadland
Business
BusinessPark
Park
EB Merge
Sliproad
A1042
Grange
Grange
Farm
Farm
A47
EB Diverge
Sliproad
SiteOffice
Office&&
Site
Compound
Compound
A1042
Park
Park&&
Ride
Ride
Jan
Jan 15
15
Spring
Spring
14
14
10
30
20
Autumn
Autumn
15
15
40
60
50
70
Commentary
Commentary::
@
@ Wk
Wk _50
_50
Link
LinkRoad
Road --OPEN
OPEN
Legend
Legend ::
Diverge
DivergeTaper
Taper––Stage
Stage11OPEN
OPEN
Current
CurrentRoad
Road––remaining
remaining
New
Newbridge
bridge––
North
NorthAbutment
Abutment
North
NorthPier
Pier
South
SouthAbutment
Abutment….
….
Current
CurrentRoad
Road––replaced
replaced
Current
CurrentTrunk
TrunkRoad
Road––A47
A47
Stats
Stats diversions
diversions….
….
New
NewRoad
Road––under
under
construction
construction
P&R
P&RJunction
Junctionreconfiguration
reconfiguration....
South
Southembankment
embankment……
Heath
Heath
Farm
Farm
Project
Project
Office
Office
P&R
P&RExtension
Extension––main
main works
works
….
….
Broadland
Broadland
Business
BusinessPark
Park
EB Merge
Sliproad
A1024
Grange
Grange
Farm
Farm
A47
EB Diverge
Sliproad
SiteOffice
Office&&
Site
Compound
Compound
A1024
Park
Park&&
Ride
Ride
Jan
Jan 15
15
Spring
Spring
14
14
10
Page 8 of 8
20
30
Autumn
Autumn
15
15
40
50
60
70