Highways England shares options to transform A46 single carriageway road through Newark, part of the nationally significant Trans-Midlands Trade Corridor, connecting the M5 with Humber Ports

Highways England has shared plans to transform the last remaining section of single carriageway on the A46, which is part of the nationally significant Trans-Midlands Trade Corridor, connecting the M5 with Humber Ports.

The proposed road upgrade will tackle congestion on the outskirts of Newark by removing bottlenecks, making journeys safer and more reliable than ever before.

For the 17,000 drivers who travel along the busy A46 every day, this increase in road capacity will put a welcome end to frustrating stop-start journeys.

The project was last costed at £450m and is a complex engineering exercise with the Newark bypass raised above ground level.

The location and setting of the A46 to the north of Newark presents a significant number of constraints and challenges. These include floodplain, residential areas, scheduled monuments and listed buildings, archaeology and two river and three rail crossings.

Two scheme options have been progressed by Highways England, following years of lobbying to the government, both of which promise to give an economic boost to communities across the region.

From today (Wednesday) to February 2021, everyone who lives near or regularly uses the route is encouraged to review the proposals and have their say on which solution they prefer.

The two options have been shortlisted following a thorough option identification process that started by considering alternative routes for the A46 and concluded that widening the existing road was the solution that performed best against the project objectives and could be delivered within the budget available.

For the two options the A46 would be widened to a dual carriageway to provide two lanes in each direction between the Farndon and Winthorpe junctions.

Both options would include a new link and a new bridge over the A1 to the north of the existing bridge.

Highways England would improve access to the A1 by removing A46 through-traffic from the Brownhills and Friendly Farmer roundabouts, allowing them to operate better.

Option 1 would require approximately 31 hectares of land outside of the existing highway boundary that includes a range of soils for arable and grassland use.

At cattle market, Option 1 would impact more landowners than Option 2 due to the land needed to divert Kelham Road into Great North Road.

At Winthorpe, Option 1 would require less land than Option 2, but we’d need to acquire two businesses situated on the A46 eastbound carriageway, between Friendly Farmer and Winthorpe roundabouts.

Option 2 would require approximately 32 hectares of land outside of the existing highway boundary that includes a range of soils for arable and grassland use.

Option 2 would require less land at cattle market than Option 1, as Kelham Road and Great North Road would remain as they are.

At Winthorpe, Option 2 requires more land than Option 1, it avoids the acquisition of two businesses but could impact upon two residential properties on Hargon Lane.

The two options would have some effect on the setting of the Grade II listed causeway arches and culverts ‘Smeaton’s Arches’ associated with the Great North Road to the north of Cattle Market Junction.

The local prevalence of archaeological sites means there is a high likelihood of encountering as-yet unknown buried archaeological remains.

In March 2020, the government’s second Road Investment Strategy included a commitment for Highways England to improve the A46 Trans Midlands Trade Corridor between the M5 and the Humber Ports, to create a continuous dual carriageway from Lincoln to Warwick.

The A46 is a nationally significant trade and export route, with ports at either end of the corridor and East Midlands and Birmingham Airports close by.

The single greatest gap in this route is the A46 at Newark; an upgraded dual carriageway opened in 2012 but stopped three miles short of the A1. This scheme will fill this gap, creating a consistently good connection from the M1 at Leicester to Lincoln, enabling UK, regional and local government’s transport and economic growth plans.

Improve journey times: Congestion on this single carriageway section of the A46 means that journeys are unreliable and take longer than they should. This will only get worse as more people are expected to use the road in the future. The improvement scheme will remove the bottleneck, meaning road users will have quicker and more reliable journeys.

Make journeys safer: From January 2014 to December 2018, accidents on this section of the A46 resulted in 197 casualties. Accidents have a direct impact on those involved and also often lead to lane closures and associated reliability issues. Widening the A46 to a dual carriageway will provide opportunities for safer overtaking, and junction improvements will reduce congestion and frustration.

Help cyclists and pedestrians: Highways England will divert existing uncontrolled crossings of the A46 to provide a safer route to cross. As it develops the scheme, it ensure the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders are considered.

Highways England project manager, Karen Green, said: “This major upgrade to the A46 will help drivers by better linking two key Midlands cities - Leicester and Lincoln.

“Cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders are set to benefit from our plans too as we’ll provide a safer route for them to cross the A46.

“We’d prefer to share information about both scheme options at a public information event where we can meet people face-to-face. As that’s not possible right now, we’re making everything available online.

“It’s vital that the new bypass works for the whole community. So, I’d encourage everyone to have their say on the road’s future.”

Thousands of leaflets advertising the public consultation have been delivered to homes and businesses around Newark.

After February 2, feedback will be considered and compiled into a consultation report The preferred route option will,be revealed in summer 2021.

The preferred route will be taken through to the next stage of design development. There will be a second public consultation and the Planning Inspectorate will examine an application for the scheme before spades reach the ground.

Design drawings for both scheme options, the consultation brochure and a short film about the project are available on the scheme webpage.

For printed copies of the consultation materials and response form and/or questions about the scheme, get in touch with the project team by calling 0300 123 5000 or emailing a46newarkbypass@highwaysengland.co.uk

For more information about the scheme options and to take part in the consultation, visit the scheme webpage www.highwaysengland.co.uk/a46-newark-bypass