Major £3.3 million carriageway improvements for the northbound A46 in Leicestershire between Ratcliffe and Six Hills
Construction work to rebuild and resurface a 2.8-mile section of the northbound A46 in Leicestershire will start on Monday, 22 February.
The major £3.3 million work will take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week until Friday 30 April on the northbound carriageway followed by some daytime lane closures for another three weeks. The works will be completed in two sections.
For the first section, traffic management will start just north of the Six Hills café and petrol station and continue to the north of the A46/B676 Six Hills junction. The traffic management involves a contraflow system with northbound traffic running on the southbound carriageway for the duration of the works in this section. The work and all traffic management will be lifted for the Easter holidays.
The second section of traffic management will be installed after the Easter break on 12 April. This will cover the stretch of carriageway from south of Seagrave cross roads to north of Six Hills junction. The contraflow system with northbound traffic running on the southbound carriageway will be in place for approximately three weeks, followed by lane closures.
At any time during the works, with the exception of four nights, one running lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction. There will be a complete closure of the southbound carriageway for four nights to install and remove the traffic management for each section.
During the four overnight closures of the southbound carriageway traffic will be diverted along the A606 and A607. The diversion route will be clearly signed.
For the duration of works, northbound wide loads will be diverted along the A607 and A606.
The construction work will also include a new drainage system, new signs, lines and road studs.
Highways Agency project manager Sameer Sharma said:
“These are important works to ensure that road users can continue to use the A46 safely now and in the future. Technical studies in the area showed that we needed to fully reconstruct the carriageway at this location, and we are working 24-7 to carry out the work as quickly as we can to minimise inconvenience to road users.
“We looked at the impact of this scheme on our road users and to minimise inconvenience we have programmed the works to ensure that the only service area on this stretch of the A46 remains open for the majority of the work. However, the petrol station and café will have to close for a period of approximately three weeks following the Easter break while work disrupts access to the services from the A46.”
Traffic is likely to be particularly heavy at peak times on the A46 and its approaches. Road users are advised to allow extra time for their journeys, to plan ahead and try to use alternative routes. Motorists can check the traffic conditions before setting off at www.highways.gov.uk: http://www.highways.gov.uk/, listening to Traffic Radio service on DAB and online, or checking local radio traffic reports.
Road users are advised that due to the closure of the petrol station during the second section of work after Easter, they should ensure they have enough fuel to complete their journey.
Additional works are planned on the A46 during the summer when only limited access is required to Ratcliffe College and further details of this scheme will be released nearer the time.
The schemes will not have an impact on the ongoing A46 Newark to Widmerpool improvements in Nottinghamshire.
Between now and the end of March there will be a significant increase in roadworks in the East Midlands, as we invest in maintaining and improving the region’s motorways and major A roads. We will do as much work as we can overnight (generally between 10pm and 6am) when traffic flows are at a minimum, but some work has to take place during the day for safety reasons and the type of activity. We will minimise delays by keeping as many lanes open as possible while the work takes place. For up to date information about roadworks which may affect your journey visit www.highways.gov.uk/area7bbf: http://www.highways.gov.uk/area7bbf
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