Dual the A11

Norfolk County Council is fully committed to achieving a start on dualling the final stretch of the A11 and is working with MPs, business leaders and Suffolk County Council to press the case for an early start on this long-awaited scheme.

We believe Norfolk can’t afford to wait any longer for this vital piece of infrastructure to be put in place and have successfully argued the case for the A11 Fiveways to Thetford to become a top priority at regional level.

Full dualling of the A11 is not only vital for the future prosperity of Norfolk, it will also bring urgently needed improvements in safety along what is a notorious bottleneck.

Businesses tell us the negative impression given by the single carriageway stretch of the road is the biggest issue affecting confidence in the local economy and a study has put the benefits of the scheme at more than £600m.

Recent discussions with MPs and the Secretary of State for Transport have raised hopes that there is a real opportunity to achieve a breakthrough and finally get the A11 out of the slow lane.

Norfolk County Council is joining forces with Suffolk County Council and business leaders to set up a petition which will be in Norfolk's libraries and offices of the Eastern Daily Press during September.

We then intend to deliver paper and online versions of the petition to the Secretary of State during Autumn in the hope of achieving a start on work by the end of 2010, if at all possible.

Please sign the petition and encourage others to do so and ensure the Secretary of State listens to people in Norfolk and Suffolk, and road users generally, and is left in no doubt about the very strong support for this vitally important scheme.