Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, in partnership with Norfolk County Council, has announced the opening of the third and final phase of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NNDR), with the entire route now being operational.
The NNDR, now to be known as the Broadland Northway, will provide improved access across the county for local residents, as well as alleviating congestion around the city of Norwich.
The major scheme has seen the delivery of 20km of dual carriageway including the construction of 13 roundabouts and eight bridges.
Throughout construction, the scheme has created on-going benefits for the environment such as the creation of 29 balancing ponds to store water run-off from the new road, seven bat bridges, wildlife ponds planted with native aquatic and marginal plants, and new homes for wildlife in the form of hibernaculums, owl boxes and bat houses.
The scheme has also created a lasting legacy within the local community, with Balfour Beatty’s team of 17 STEM ambassadors attending schools and colleges across Norwich to educate young people on the vast number of career opportunities available within the construction sector.
Phil Clifton, Managing Director of Balfour Beatty’s Highways business, said: “We are delighted that the Broadland Northway is now open to traffic and the local community can experience the extensive benefits of the scheme.
“While the project was not without its challenges, we have deployed innovative solutions to safely deliver the route, which has created a positive legacy for the environment and the Norfolk community in the form of skills development and education for local young people. The project’s success is a testament to the skills, expertise, and collaborative working relationship between the fully integrated delivery team and Norfolk County Council.”
Martin Wilby, Chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Environment, Development & Transport Committee, praised the tremendous effort put in by the Balfour Beatty and County Council’s construction teams to overcome setbacks caused by weeks of wet and wintry weather, notably the ‘Beast from the East’. He described the road as “an important piece in Norfolk’s infrastructure jigsaw that will help secure a better, brighter and more prosperous future for Norfolk.”
ENDS
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Notes to editors:
- Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) is a leading international infrastructure group. With 28,000 employees, we provide innovative and efficient infrastructure that underpins our daily lives, supports communities and enables economic growth. We finance, develop, build and maintain complex infrastructure such as transportation, power and utility systems, social and commercial buildings.
- Our main geographies are the UK & Ireland, US and Far East. Over the last 100 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world including the London Olympics’ Aquatic Centre, Hong Kong’s first Zero Carbon building, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in the US and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
- Balfour Beatty’s highways business designs, constructs and manages many of the UK’s major highways. The business also delivers complex Design Build Finance Operate and Early Contractor Involvement schemes.
- Through constant innovation and the use of cutting-edge technology, Balfour Beatty supports clients to deliver optimal highways experiences to the travelling public, better connecting communities and creating more reliable and safer journeys. From project conception through to completion, Balfour Beatty has a continued focus on future proofing its schemes. This includes creating smart motorways and preparing routes to welcome autonomous vehicles.
- Current projects include Balfour Beatty’s £292m construction contract to widen a critical and complex 10-mile stretch of the existing A14, as part of Highways England’s £1.5bn A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme. The team also has extensive experience of using the latest technology to tackle congestion and is working towards the completion of Manchester Smart Motorway scheme M62 junctions 18-20 and M60 junctions 8-10.
- Recently completed Highways schemes include the £70m dualling scheme to upgrade a 2.5 mile section of the A21 in Kent from single to dual carriageway. The project has delivered a safer and more streamlined route for the travelling public, also supporting the local economy in this area of Kent.
