Full weekend closure planned as old A47 section removed

Marc Hobbins Posted On May 29, 2026

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National Highways has confirmed a full weekend closure of part of the A47 as crews prepare to “rip up” sections of the existing road to allow work on a new dual carriageway project.

The A47 will close in both directions between Norwich and Dereham from 20:00 BST on Friday until 06:00 on Monday.

The closure is required so engineers can construct the new Lyng Road junction and begin removing the Easton roundabout as part of the wider scheme to dual the A47 between North Tuddenham and Easton.

Chris Griffin, programme leader at National Highways, said: “Apologies to the travelling public, but this is about getting the road open this summer.”

National Highways said the closure would affect the section between the Longwater Interchange and the Dereham Interchange, with diversion routes operating via the A11, A134 and A1065.

Motorists have also been warned that an abnormal load travelling from King’s Lynn to Necton will use part of the diversion route through Swaffham on Sunday.

Speaking to the BBC, Griffin said he remained confident the road would reopen as scheduled on Monday morning.

“We are literally ripping up the old A47 to basically do two new crossovers, so where you are driving on the A47 currently you will then divert left or right on to the new local road,” he said.
“We recognise the disruption this causes, but we don’t take these things lightly.”

Around 100 workers are expected to be on site throughout the weekend, with crews also carrying out pothole repairs during the closure.

Once the road reopens, drivers will be able to use the newly constructed Lyng Road and local access route.

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