A47 Great Yarmouth junctions improvements

We’re planning improvements to two junctions in Great Yarmouth in order to reduce congestion and improve safety in the area.

Start date 2023-24

End date 2024-25

Cost £25 million - £50 million

Latest updates

30 July 2019

Traffic modelling and assessment

In August 2017 we made our Preferred Route Announcement confirming that the options shown would be progressed to the detailed design phase because they reduce congestion and provide value for money. The anticipated benefits will be reviewed once further traffic-modelling has taken place, to ensure that any investment delivers value for money.

This scheme has been paused pending a review. Since the preferred route announcement of the Highways England scheme, the Great Yarmouth ‘Third River Crossing’ was awarded funding by the Department for Transport. An initial assessment commissioned by Highways England has indicated that the Third River Crossing may have a significant impact on traffic flows in Great Yarmouth, which will need to be re-assessed.

We have agreed with the Department for Transport that we will pause work on our current proposed designs and undertake further traffic modelling and assessment. Highways England will continue to work collaboratively with Norfolk County Council to reassess traffic flows in the area so that agreement can be reached as to what is required to improve the road network in Great Yarmouth.

See more updates

Project information

The A47 Vauxhall and Gapton junctions in northern Great Yarmouth currently experience heavy congestion during peak hours. This is due to there being few route options entering and exiting the town, and a lack of connectivity between movements within the town.

We’re proposing to improve the Vauxhall roundabout by making it a larger and fully signalled, with a widened bridge over the railway line to accommodate the A47 southern exit and approach. We’ll make minor improvements to the station approach at the existing junction, including adding a dedicated right turn at the existing left turn only junction. We’ll install traffic lights at the Gapton roundabout and improve provisions for non-motorised users.

This project will be reviewed once the Third River Crossing is open and its impact on traffic flows can be assessed.

This project aims to:

improve safety and reduce collisions
reduce delays and make journey times more reliable
increase the ability of the junctions to cope with incidents such as collisions and breakdowns, or during road maintenance and extreme weather
approve amenities for cyclists and pedestrians