Work on long-awaited improvements to a congested bypass in Newark could begin in the next five years, officials have said.
National Highways proposed improving the A46 Newark bypass by widening 6.5 km of the existing single carriageway to a dual carriageway, in a bid to provide two lanes in each direction between Farndon and Winthorpe roundabouts.
A new flyover will be built at the Cattle Market roundabout for the A46 to pass over the junction, while a new bridge will also be constructed over the A1.
Winthorpe roundabout itself will be extended as part of the £686 million scheme.
The route has several notorious pinch points, and campaigners have been calling for improvements for years.
On Monday (27 April), a new link road connecting the A46 to the A1 opened amid the continued development of more than 3,000 homes on the Middlebeck estate.
While no official date has been given for the start of work to improve the wider bypass, a new Government document says it will be completed in its next roads investment period, which runs from 2026 to 2031.
The scheme was given the green light in October last year, after the Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, approved a Development Consent Order (DCO), which is a permit that allows construction of major projects to go ahead.
Councillor Paul Peacock (Lab), the leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I think this scheme (the link road) that has been implemented, and the scheme at the A46 flyover, will massively improve congestion in and around Newark. It will bring investment, bring jobs, and opportunities for housing, as this one has.
“The Secretary of State has OK’d it. Planning permission, a DCO, is in place. I think it is now about signing off a schedule. The Government signs off a schedule of when it starts.
“I would like to think that in the next five years there will be a spade in the ground, maybe sooner. There is a political will for it to happen, and all the technical details have fallen into place, so it shouldn’t be too long.”
Andrew Jackson, programme lead for third-party projects integration for National Highways, added: “National Highways manages and operates the strategic road network, all our major roads, and that includes the A46.
“So the Newark bypass was listed in the Government’s published roads investment strategy, which was published last month, and that is the Secretary of State’s direction to National Highways on what projects, what upgrades, what enhancements and, dare I say it, what maintenance needs to be done on the strategic road network.
“The Newark bypass has been included in that list. We have just received that strategy, and so National Highways is looking at the programming and all the detail about if and when we can get into that project.
“Every scheme will stand and fall on its merits. The good news here is that it has been through a Development Consent Order process, so it has all the planning in place. It is going to be a vital upgrade.”
The Government published its third Roads Investment Strategy document in March, which pledges £27 billion in investment for the country’s strategic road network.
The strategic road network is made up of 4,500 miles of roads, managed by National Highways, and these consist of England’s motorways and major A roads.
The document said: “Work will also begin in the Midlands on both the A38 Derby Junctions and A46 Newark Bypass, which will be completed in the next road period.
“The investment to upgrade the A46 at Newark will support sectors which are dominant in the local economy and reliant on roads for growth, including manufacturing and logistics.
“Later this year, National Highways will provide more detail on the opening-to-traffic dates and start-of-works dates in its Delivery Plan.”
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