The A11 is open for business.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin will head to Norfolk today as the last cones were due to be lifted in the early hours on the final piece of jigsaw which gives the region a dual carriageway link to London.

Campaigners will gather to herald the signal that Norfolk is now more than ever a great place to do business.

The Prime Minister, who it is understood had hoped to be at the opening, but is on a visit to Northern Ireland, said the completion of the road would bring huge benefits to the people of East Anglia.

“Parents will be able to spend less time commuting and more time with their families. Business owners will be able to deliver their products quicker and get their staff into work on time. And already residents of Elveden are no longer waking to the sound of rush-hour traffic - and they can even hear birds sing,” he said in a special piece for the EDP.

George Nobbs, Leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “This dualling is very significant for Norfolk, as this is more than the completion of a construction project. This stretch of road being dualled ensures that, at long last, Norwich is no longer the only major UK city not linked to the rest of the UK by dual carriageway.

“In the past businesses were choosing not to locate to parts of Norfolk because of perceived poor transport links.

Despite enjoying the beauty of our county, many tourists had their experience marred by a delayed journey getting into or out of the county.

And, of course, there were too many lives being lost or ruined by collisions on the single carriageway stretch.

“Those are now things of the past where this part of the A11 is concerned and there is no longer any excuse for businesses not to invest here.”