Widening for key section of UK’s A11 route complete

Contractor Balfour Beatty has completed the €132.4 million (£105 million) upgrade of the last remaining single carriageway section of the A11. This section of the route runs between Barton Mills in Suffolk and Thetford in Norfolk. The work involved dualling nearly 15km of carriageway on behalf of the Highways Agency.
December 12, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
New A11 looking north, with the Elveden Memorial in the distance

Contractor 1146 Balfour Beatty has completed the €132.4 million (£105 million) upgrade of the last remaining single carriageway section of the A11. This section of the route runs between Barton Mills in Suffolk and Thetford in Norfolk. The work involved dualling nearly 15km of carriageway on behalf of the 2309 Highways Agency.

Main construction on the project started in January 2013 and the completed dual carriageway was officially opened by the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP, at a ceremony attended by local stakeholders.

The scheme involved the widening of the strategic route linking Suffolk with Norfolk to dual two-lane standard along its length and included the construction of a 5.8km bypass to the north of Elveden village in Suffolk. It has also involved the construction of six major new bridge structures, forming either underpasses or overbridges.

330,000tonnes of earth were moved during the project, which also involved laying around 140,000tonnes of asphalt, lifting 1,500 tonnes of bridge steel work and pouring 4000 tonnes of concrete. Over 32km of drainage pipes and 50,000m3 of earth were replaced with gravel to take water away from the carriageway.

The scheme achieved 20% savings over its original projected cost as a result of nearly €25.2 million (£20 million) of savings by Balfour Beatty, including the avoidance of national grid and gas infrastructure diversions and the retention of more of the original A11 than originally anticipated. Some landscaping work will continue in the New Year and is due to be completed by the end of March 2015.

Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bridge savings in Scotland to fund road improvements
    August 27, 2014
    The project to construct the new Forth Crossing close to Scottish capital Edinburgh is looking extremely positive, with cost savings envisaged for the bridge. The Queensferry Crossing scheme now looks to require slightly less funding than had been originally expected when the plans were unveiled in 2011, due in part to tight controls over spending. The bridge costs had been budgeted at close to €2 billion (£1.6 billion) initially but the project now looks likely to cost €1.81 billion (£1.45 billion). The sa
    Read More
  • Road improvement works are planned for East England
    May 13, 2021
    Road improvement works are being planned between Peterborough and Great Yarmouth.
    Read More
  • STRABAG wins contract for Hamburg, Germany
    August 26, 2020
    STRABAG has won a major highway contract in Hamburg, Germany.
    Read More
  • Geosynthetic drainage technology developments
    June 13, 2012
    An innovative solution to providing vital, low-impact surface water control for one of Britain’s largest local authority road schemes is said to have been recently achieved using Hydro International’s (HI) Hydro Vortex Drop Shaft  ow control technology. The new 7km bypass built by Costain at Church Village, near Pontypridd, South Wales, required careful planning to minimise its effect on the countryside and the local environment. Rhondda Cynon Taff Council needed to bypass Church Village to reduce traf c
    Read More

Highlighted Content