Dualling of A47 discussed

Only short stretches of the A47 are already dualled

A decision was due on Tuesday on whether a 100-mile section of the A47 from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk to Peterborough in Cambridgeshire should be improved.

Four members of the management committee of the Regional Planning Panel have been meeting in Cambridge to decide whether the road should be dualled wholly or in part.

A decision on the time-scale for any dualling has also been discussed.

Only relatively short stretches are already dual carriageway - at Peterborough and Wisbech, and bypasses at Swaffham, Dereham and Norwich.

Campaigners for further dualling of the route say it is essential to accommodate increasing traffic levels and to ensure the future prosperity of businesses along the A47.

They also believe it could save lives.

One calculation suggests that improving the road would save more than 100 lives over the next 25 years.

There has been a debate over the future of the road for over 30 years.

The A47 is seen as the region's most important east-west trunk routes after the A14.