A47 road
The A47 is a major trunk road in England linking Birmingham to Lowestoft, Suffolk, maintained and operated by National Highways. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114. From Peterborough eastwards, it is a trunk road.
History
The original route of the A47 was Birmingham to Great Yarmouth, but some changes were made to its route in the early years.At its eastern end, the A47 originally ran through Filby and Caister-on-Sea, with the Acle Straight bearing the number B1140.
A change took place in 1925. The original route of the A47 between Guyhirn and Wisbech in the Isle of Ely was via Wisbech St Mary, with the direct route being part of the A141. That was because there was no road bridge over the River Nene at Guyhirn and hence no junction between the A47 and the A141. In April 1925 a steel road bridge was opened, and the A47 and the A141 swapped routes between Guyhirn and Wisbech.
The A47 was rerouted along the Acle Straight in 1935, with the old route being renumbered as the A1064 and part of the A149. Another change also dates from 1935. The A47 originally ran via Downham Market, not King's Lynn. In 1935, it was rerouted via King's Lynn, replacing part of the A141 and part of the A17. The old route via Downham Market was renumbered as the A1122 and part of the A1101.
Major improvements were made from the late 1970s until early in the 1990s. The seven-mile £5 million part-dual-carriageway East Dereham Bypass built on part of the disused railway line was opened in spring 1978 followed by a five-mile part-dual-carriageway Swaffham Bypass, costing £5 million, which was opened in June 1981. Bypasses for Uppingham and Blofield were opened in 1982 and 1983 respectively. The southern section of the Great Yarmouth Western Bypass was opened in May 1985 and the northern section in March 1986 at a cost of £19 million, followed by improvements to the one-mile Postwick-Blofield section, which was opened in November 1987. In 1989 Acle Bypass was completed at a cost of £7.1 million and the £1.2 million East Norton Bypass was opened in December 1990. The three-mile £9 million East Dereham-North Tuddenham Improvement opened in August 1992 and the £62 million Norwich southern Bypass in September 1992.
Escalating road protests starting with Twyford Down in 1992 and culminating with the Newbury bypass in 1996 led to more than 300 road schemes being cancelled in November 1995 and to the cancellation of further schemes, including the Thorney bypass, by the new Labour government in 1997.
In 2002 the government announced a new road-building programme, which included the three-mile dual-carriageway Thorney bypass, which opened on 14 December 2005.
In February 2017 Highways England redesignated the stretch of the A12 road between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft as the A47.
Proposed improvements
Acle Straight (New Road)
A study on the A47 which concluded in 2001 looked at improving New Road, i.e. the section of the A47 between Acle and Great Yarmouth known as the Acle Straight. The improvement of the Acle Straight has become a point of contention between interested parties due to its passage through the Norfolk Broads, an area of important ecological and conservation significance that limits development. The study which recommended widening rather than dualling of the Acle Straight was opposed by the Broadland District Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Norfolk Police Authority and the majority of local respondents who believed that dualling of the road is necessary to improve road safety, decrease journey time and support the economic development of Great Yarmouth. Dualling was however strongly opposed by the Environment Agency, the Council for National Parks and the Broads Authority due to its impact on biodiversity and internationally important wildlife sites. These parties did cautiously support further investigation into the option for widening following further investigation of its environmental impact.Acle Straight safety improvement scheme
In 2006 a programme of safety improvement for the Acle Straight were announced. This would include road resurfacing, better road markings, improved visibility and the installation of safety cameras at an estimated total cost of £1.6 million. The result would then be monitored while long-term improvements, such as widening, are considered.Norwich Northern Distributor Road
A £117 million road scheme to the north of Norwich, linking the A1067 and Norwich International Airport to the A47, sponsored and managed by Norfolk County Council. It was priority scheme for Norfolk County Council and it attracted strong opposition both locally and from environmental groups. On 2 June 2015 the scheme was given the go ahead, in 2017 parts of the road were opened with the complete road opened in early 2018.Norwich Western Link
A scheme to connect the A47 at Easton with the A1067 at Attlebridge at the end of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road.Improvements around Norwich
The two stretches of dual carriageway west and east of Norwich are planned to be dualled by 2027. Although a Development Consent Order was granted in 2022, both schemes were subject to legal challenge which have since been dismissed. This caused the overall scheme to be delayed by 20 months. Work began on the North Tuddenham to Easton leg in 19 August 2024 and is due to be finished in 2027. Work is also underway to dual the A47 between Blofield and North Burlingham which is scheduled to open in March 2026.In addition to the two dualling schemes, National Highways also proposed to improve the Thickthorn Junction, where the A47 meets the A11. This will involve the construction of two new free-flow link roads between the A47 and the A11. this project was also the subject of a legal dispute which was since dismissed. In July 2024, the £153 million contract was awarded to Skanska. The scheme is scheduled for completion in 2028.
Other proposed improvements
In 2012 Norfolk County Council launched the strategic route prospectus which detailed improvement schemes along the A47 between Peterborough and King's Lynn. The list of improvements, costing a total £526 million, included dualling sections of the road and other junction improvements. The sections of the road to be dualled were the Acle straight, Blofield to Burlingham, North Tuddenham to Easton and the East Winch/Middleton bypass. Other improvements detailed were four schemes at Great Yarmouth, including a £112 million third river crossing, four junction improvements along the Norwich Southern Bypass and improvements to the three junctions at King's Lynn.On 8 October 2012 it was the announced that improvements to the A1/A47 junction at Wansford and the roundabout at Honingham would be approved for pinch point funding. On 1 December 2014 it was announced that a package of improvements to the A47 worth a total of £300 million would be funded during the 2015–20 parliament.
Plans to dual the A47 west of Peterborough between Wansford and Sutton were cancelled by the government in August 2025.
Route
Birmingham
The Birmingham end of the A47 starts one mile from the centre of Birmingham at the junction with the A4540 Middleway. The traffic light controlled junction was laid out in 2018–19 following the infilling of the Ashted Circus roundabout. The road runs north-east through Vauxhall as Nechells Parkway and then Saltley Road. The road continues north east following the Cross Country Route and River Rea as first Heartlands Parkway and then Fort Parkway. The Birmingham section of the road terminates at Spitfire Island, a roundabout on the A452 halfway between the M6 Junction 5 and A38 Tyburn Island.The route between Birmingham and Nuneaton was known as the A47 until 1986, when it was renumbered, mainly as the B4114, following the completion of the M42.
Nuneaton – Leicester
At Nuneaton the road re-emerges as Hinckley Road from a junction with the A444, near the railway station. Leaving Nuneaton, it passes the North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, meets the A4254 at a roundabout and the A5 Watling Street near the Longshoot Hotel. It follows the A5 for a half-mile entering Leicestershire and the district of Hinckley and Bosworth, then leaves at a roundabout to bypass Hinckley to the north as Dodwells Road then Normandy Way which was completed in the summer of 1994. This section passes through a large industrial estate and close to a Tesco distribution centre, crossing the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal. It meets a roundabout near the Triumph motorbike factory. It bypasses Earl Shilton on its southern side as a single carriageway road. It then runs through Leicester Forest on a line parallel with the M69. It enters Leicester Forest East crossing the M1 near the service station and continues on into the City of Leicester at the B5380 junction. The road continues into the city centre crossing the A563 outer ring-road before becoming part of the inner ring road.Leicester – A1
Leaving Leicester the road becomes Humberstone Road, then Uppingham Road. It passes under the Midland Main Line and meets the B6146 St Barnabas Road to the south, then passes over the former Leicester Belgrave Road to Peterborough North section of the Great Northern Railway which follows the road as far as Houghton on the Hill. At the A6030 crossroads, it becomes part of the Leicester outer ring road in North Evington. At Humberstone, beyond the A563 and Goodwood Road crossroads, the road meets the B667 Spencefield Lane to the south, for Evington. Between the Downing Drive junction and Thurnby Hill it enters Leicestershire and the district of Harborough. At Thurnby it meets Station Road to the north, for Scraptoft. Leaving Bushby it climbs Winkadale Hill into the countryside.The road travels through Houghton on the Hill, with crossroads for Leicester Airport and Old Ingarsby next to the Rose and Crown and JET Houghton Garage, and heads down Palace Hill with a right turn for Gaulby, a left turn for Tilton on the Hill, then crosses the River Sence. The two-mile £2.5 million three-lane Billesdon Bypass opened in October 1986, passing north of the village, with staggered crossroads. It meets the B6047 north-south Market Harborough to Melton Mowbray road at staggered crossroads at the highest point of the A47, at around 670 feet. It passes through Skeffington with a right turn for Rolleston then heads through Tugby, which is traversed by the Midshires Way and National Cycle Route 63. It winds its way towards the one-kilometre £1.2 million East Norton Bypass, which opened in December 1990, passing south of the village, with a left turn for Loddington and right turn for Hallaton. Leaving the village, after rejoining the former route, it passes the former railway station. It heads down a hill as three lanes and crosses the Eye Brook and from here the next ten miles are in Rutland, and three lanes become two.
There is a left turn for Belton-in-Rutland and a right turn for Allexton where the road is crossed by the Leicestershire Round and Macmillan Way. The two-mile £1.9 million Wardley Hill Improvement opened in October 1987, and there is a right turn for Wardley, where the road is crossed by the Rutland Round. The road improvement took a less-crooked route closer to the village, with a less steep incline avoiding the top of Wardley Hill. The one-and-a-half-mile £1.4 million Uppingham Bypass opened in June 1982, taking a shorter route north of the town, which is the home of Uppingham School. It meets the A6003 at a roundabout, and meets the former Glaston Road route and crossroads for Bisbrooke, to the south. It passes through Glaston, with crossroads for Wing and Seaton near the Old Pheasant. It passes over the tunnel of the Oakham to Kettering Line. Entering Morcott it passes Redwings Lodge, a former Travelodge, and a new cafe restaurant, the Country Lounge originally a Little Chef, on the left and there is a left turn for Morcott, where the road is crossed by the Rutland Round. It meets the A6121 and B672 where it crosses a tunnel of a former railway. At a right turn for Barrowden there is Morcott Windmill, and the road is again crossed by the Rutland Round. There is a crossroads for South Luffenham and Barrowden.
From Shire Oaks through Tixover, the road has been straightened, and to the right is the Welland Valley. At Tixover there is a crossroads, where the Rutland Round follows the road to the east. The road crosses the River Welland, where the Jurassic Way crosses the road. The Duddington Bypass, where the road enters the district of North Northamptonshire, opened in 1975. This section has a busy roundabout where it meets the south-west/north-east corridor A43. On the northern edge of Collyweston Great Wood, it meets Kingscliffe Road for Collyweston, at the west gate of RAF Wittering. It follows the perimeter fence of the airfield to Collyweston Cross Roads, where there is a right turn for Kings Cliffe. The woodland here is the northern edge of the historic Rockingham Forest. The road towards Wittering Lodge has been straightened, and crosses the City of Peterborough boundary. At Toll Bar Cottage, there is a left turn for Wittering, opposite Bedford Purlieus National Nature Reserve. The road meets the A1.