Press release: Video shows A47 King’s Lynn bridge repair

The footage shows two 28-metre-long beams – each weighing ten tonnes – being lifted into place on the bridges, at the Saddlebow interchange in Kings Lynn.

The work to repair the bridges after they were damaged when they were struck by an over-height vehicle, started last October. The bridges at the Saddlebow interchange to the south of the town are being repaired as part of a wider £18 million package of work to maintain the A47 in Norfolk, which consists of around 70 different schemes.

Highways England project manager Ajith Nair said:

We’re very grateful for drivers for their patience while we completed this vital work. This footage shows the amount and the scale of the work we’ve been doing, and will help drivers to realise how busy we’ve been and why the roads over the bridges needed to be closed while we were repairing them.

Safety is at the heart of everything we do at Highways England, and this work we have been doing on Saddlebow Bridge and elsewhere on the A47 will improve both safety and journey quality for drivers.

A47 Saddlebow bridge repairs at King’s Lynn

The £3.1 million work on the bridges began last October, and was completed in May. Work was slightly delayed by the recent cold snap and the unexpected discovery of a crack on one of the bridge decks which requires further repair work, as well as Highways England’s commitment to keep the A47 open over the Easter weekend.

The works mainly involved jacking the bridge, hydro demolition of the bridge deck, removal of the steel edge beam, replacing the damaged beams on each bridge, and concreting the deck.

Both the bridges carrying the A148 over the A47 at the Saddlebow interchange have been closed throughout the project. During the closures, drivers were diverted via the nearby A47 Pullover roundabout (when heading westbound) and A47 Hardwick interchange (eastbound). There were also several overnight and weekend closures beneath the interchange, whereby drivers were diverted to exit at Saddlebow and go ‘up and over’ the closure.

While the closures were in place, Highways England also completed resurfacing of the four slip roads and the junction roundabout itself.

This wider £18 million package of work has included resurfacing, bridge strengthening, replacing street lights, repairing drainage along with safety improvements and renewing signs and road markings at key locations along the road.

Now completed, the width restrictions previously in place on the A148 over the bridge have been removed, while drivers will also see improvements to the road signs and markings approaching the roundabout and a smoother surface across it.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

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