Morgan Sindall A11 concrete surfacing repair work delivered ahead of schedule

National Highways has said that Morgan Sindall has completed repair work on the A11 southbound between Thickthorn and Attleborough in Norfolk ahead of schedule, enabling it to cancel planned closures this week.

The contractor is currently reconstructing sections of the A11 carriageway between Spooner Row and the Tuttles Interchange at Wymondham in both directions, a section of road that carries around 45,000 vehicles daily.

National Highways said that the work has progressed better than expected and in a statement said: "We’re pleased to confirm that this work has been completed ahead of schedule, so the closures [this week] are no longer required."

The A11 is the first reconstruction project under National Highways’ Concrete Roads programme. Morgan Sindall Infrastructure was appointed lead contractor for the £65M A11 upgrade in 2021, with work started on 29 May 2022 and programmed to be completed this summer.

Reconstructing the road entailed a challenging project to remove concrete surfacings and sub-base; the sections of A11 being replaced had been longitudinally reinforced with steel bar to create continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP).

National Highways has said that the work on the A11 will restart on 16 April for overnight to carry out resurfacing and drainage work. In its statement, National Highways said: "We’ll also be moving the vehicle safety barrier so we can adjust the layout of our contraflow roadworks ahead of our next phase of work."

National Highways' programme to rebuild and revitalise concrete roads in England is its biggest to date, with £400M to be invested between 2020 and 2025 to carry out the work. The lifespan of some concrete roads will be extended for 10 years by repairing potholes and cracks before reconstruction.

To support concrete road upgrades, National Highways also established a virtual Centre of Excellence for Concrete to bring together advances in technology, safety and the environment.

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