Contractor appointed for controversial Norwich Western Link road
A contractor has been chosen to work on the controversial road plans.
Last updated 26th Jun 2021
Norfolk County Council has revealed they've appointed a contractor to work on the controversial multi-million pound Norwich Western Link road.
It's chosen Ferrovial Construction which it describes as a leading construction and engineering company.
The company will start working immediately with the council's existing project team to further develop the design of the Western Link, which will include 3.8 miles of dual carriageway connecting the A47 with the Broadland Northway.
This work will feed into the pre-planning application public consultation which is expected this Autumn, ahead of a planning application for the project being submitted early next year.
Cllr Martin Wilby, Norfolk County Council's Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said: "Ferrovial Construction have a great track record in designing and building large-scale infrastructure projects and will bring specialist expertise to the project, including in relation to the design of the viaduct across the River Wensum.
"Creating the Norwich Western Link is a priority for this council and it's vital to ensuring we have the right infrastructure in place to not only tackle existing congestion and delays but to accommodate future population and job growth. We're looking forward to working with Ferrovial Construction to deliver such an important project for Norfolk."
Karl Goose, UK Managing Director, Ferrovial Construction, said: "We are delighted to have been selected to deliver the Norwich Western Link. We will be bringing our expertise and experience at delivering highways projects in the UK, Ireland and around the world to provide Norfolk County Council and the region with a world-class piece of infrastructure.
"We will be delivering this project with local teams, opening new opportunities for people in Norfolk and a gateway to careers in the industry and sustainable career development paths."
At the same meeting cabinet members also agreed to approve the outline business case for the Norwich Western Link, and this has now been submitted to the Department for Transport.
The council says the business case demonstrated that the project would provide high value for money, significantly reduce many journey times to the west of Norwich, improve road safety and reduce carbon emissions from vehicles.
If the outline business case is approved, this would provide a funding commitment from government which is expected to cover 85% of the £198 million total project costs.
Controversy
There are people who aren't happy with plans for the Western Link Road, with many raising concerns about the impact it'll have on the environment.
Campaign group 'Stop the Wensum Link' is among them.