National Highways has revealed that the final part of a major upgrade to the A52 around Nottingham has now moved a step closer – with work to enlarge and redesign the two main roundabouts taking traffic in and out of Ruddington scheduled to begin next summer.
The agency has announced it’s appointed Griffiths Farrans Joint Venture (GFJV) as the main contractor to deliver the project. GFJV will finalise the design and construct the remaining two junctions at Nottingham Knight and Wheatcroft – with its work due to start in September 2024. This is not expected to be completed until 2026/27, however, meaning long term disruption for village motorists is inevitable.
National Highways (formerly Highways England) is promising to hold another public event to share the more detailed proposals, and to seek local views, later this year. Meantime, it has provided initial illustrations of what the Nottingham Knight Island {top} and Wheatcroft Island {below} might look like once work is finished. The red lines illustrate the existing carriageways – showing how much bigger the new Ruddington roundabouts could actually be – especially the Nottingham Knight Island!
The scheme, originally announced back in 2014 as part of the government’s ‘Road Investment Strategy’, consists of a package of measures to improve several junctions along the length of the A52 in Nottingham, including signalisation and junction reconstruction.
Senior Project Manager in the Midlands, Nick Medlicott, says: “The announcement that we have appointed GFJV as our main contractor on the final phase of our A52 Improvements Project marks an exciting milestone in a transition which we know will make journeys smoother for motorists and support economic growth. We are coming into this final phase of the upgrade works in a strong position, with an ongoing collaborative relationship with our main contractor and an established team in place.”
He adds: “I would also like to thank the local community for their patience and engagement during our work so far. We also look forward to holding public information events to ensure local communities, businesses and road users can meet members of our team in person and find out more about our plans.”
Steve Haviland, Partnership Leader at Griffiths Farrans Joint Venture, says: “We are looking forward to continuing our successful relationship with National Highways to deliver the final element in an integral series of works that will have a positive impact for travel in this region. High profile projects like this one demonstrate the critical role that civil engineering has to play in delivering a functioning, valuable road infrastructure. By reducing congestion and improving safety with this work, we are building a network which will support transport and logistics, save lives and allow the local economy to grow for years to come.”
We’ll keep you posted with further updates, including the promised public consultations later in 2023, here at RUDDINGTON.info.
