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Overnight closures for main road speed cameras

Andrew Turner
BBC News, Norfolk
Reporting fromGreat Yarmouth
Andrew Turner/BBC A yellow road sign, stating: This road will be closed Monday to Friday 17 March to 7 May, 8pm to 6am. In the backdrop are trees, a white clouded blue sky, and a queue of traffic including a van bearing the name "Lowestoft Fish Co."Andrew Turner/BBC
The A47 Acle Straight will be closed weekdays between Monday and 7 May as National Highways installs the average speed cameras

The main road into a Norfolk seaside town will be closed for most of the next nine weeks to allow safety cameras to be installed.

National Highways will start work on Monday to erect four average speed monitors on the A47 between Acle and Great Yarmouth.

The government agency has put up signs saying the route will be shut Monday-Friday between 20:00 and 06:00 until 7 May.

"This scheme aims to improve safety for all road users by reducing the number of people harmed on this route," said National Highways on its website.

It has published details of a 25-mile (40km) diversion via the A146 at Trowse near Norwich to the A143 at Gillingham near Beccles, through to Great Yarmouth.

Once work is complete, the speed limit for cars will be dropped from 60mph (97km/h) to 50mph (80km/h).

"Our ambition is that no-one should be harmed while travelling or working on our roads," a spokesperson added.

Martin Giles/BBC Graham Plant, dressed in a pinstripe suit, with black tie and white shirt. He is wearing tinted glasses, and has a full beard and moustache and close cropped hair. He is standing in parkland, with grass and mature trees in the background.Martin Giles/BBC
Graham Plant, Norfolk County Council portfolio holder for transport, said he would prefer the route be upgraded to a dual carriageway

According to crashmap.co.uk, which says it maps collision data using information from the government and police forces, there were 17 collisions classed as either serious or fatal along the road between May 2019 and January 2025.

Conservative Graham Plant, the county council portfolio holder for transport, said the A47 Alliance wanted the road - stretching from Lowestoft to Peterborough - to be a dual carriageway.

"Average speed cameras aren't what we wanted but given the accident rate on this stretch, safety will always be a major factor," he said.

However, he said he was not happy with a reduced speed limit of 50mph.

Andrew Turner/BBC Two cars pass on the Acle Straight near Great Yarmouth. The picture shows the road surface and part of the verge. It also shows clouds in a blue sky and sunshine.Andrew Turner/BBC
Traffic will be limited to 50mph once the work is complete

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