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Roads will be closed for weeks when work on two major transport shake-up schemes to speed up buses starts in the new year. Work on Norwich's Dereham Road, where it meets Grapes Hill, and on Great Yarmouth's Market Gates bus interchange is due to begin on Monday, January 6. Market Gates in Great Yarmouth (Image: James Weeds) Both schemes will involve temporary road closures, with the Yarmouth scheme costing almost £2m and the Norwich project close to £500,000.
Norfolk County Council bosses say the schemes, funded through County Hall's £50m bus service improvement plan, will speed up buses and bring improvements for all road users. The Norwich scheme, which had come in for criticism , will see existing lanes altered and curbs moved to create more space for buses and general traffic. The changes which will be made in Dereham Road at the Grapes Hill junction (Image: Norfolk County Council) A number of roads will be temporarily closed so the work, which is due to continue until March, can be done.
Raglan Street will be closed at its junction with Dereham Road from January 6 until March 6. Dereham Road will be shut westbound from the junction of Grapes Hill to Golding Place from January 27 until February 7. The junction of Dereham Road and Grapes Hill in Norwich (Image: Newsquest) And Grapes Hill will be shut overnight, from 7pm to 6am, northbound from Convent Road to Dereham Road and on Dereham Road from Grapes Hill to Orchard Street, in both directions from February 17 until February 18.
At Market Gates, in Great Yarmouth, the changes would mean buses would be able to travel in both directions . The work is due to continue until May 18 and will cause disruption, with road closures and traffic lights. There will be two-way temporary traffic lights on Temple Road, with its junction with St Nicholas Road until April 14.
Regent Boulevard and Temple Road - under the Market Gates canopy - will be closed while work is done, with the closure alternating between lanes to allow southbound traffic to keep running. READ MORE: Great Yarmouth's Market Gates mall on sale for £4.58m Graham Plant, the county council's cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport said: "Both of these schemes will enable buses to move more effectively which will improve journey times and reliability for local services, whilst also creating a safer environment for pedestrians.
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