POLITICAL and business leaders last night told of their delight as thousands of people signed a petition calling on the Government to fully dual the A11.
Laurence Cawley
POLITICAL and business leaders last night told of their delight as thousands of people signed a petition calling on the Government to fully dual the A11.
MPs, council bosses, and members of the business community from across Suffolk and Norfolk gathered to launch a public petition, which they hope will pressurise transport minister Ruth Kelly to accelerate the upgrade of the last remaining single carriageway stretch of the trunk road.
More than 600 names are already on an online petition organised by Norfolk County Council and many more had signed a paper calling for dualling work between Thetford and Barton Mills Fiveways to start in 2010.
The £135million scheme for the nine mile stretch of road has been in the pipeline for more than 35 years and is currently pencilled in to begin in 2011/12.
The launch of the public petition, which will run until early October, came as morning motorists experienced rush hour chaos after a transit van ended up on its side following a road traffic collision on the Sainsbury A11 roundabout at Thetford.
Richard Spring, MP for West Suffolk, said: “If we do get a round of budgetary cuts in the next few months, the one thing that is not going to be reduced, we hope, is this scheme and that is why this petition is so timely.”
Jeremy Pembroke, leader of Suffolk County Council, said the dualling of the A11 would also help improve the quality of life for people living in surrounding villages and towns, particularly in Brandon.
Jo Pearson, managing director of Pearsons recycling in Thetford and member of the Gateway A11 East Group, added that the response from shoppers at Tesco had been “fantastic.”
Michelle Mortimer, 36, from Thetford, said: “The petition is brilliant and at the end of the day we need something to happen quickly with the A11.”
People can sign the petition online by visiting www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/dual-the-a11. The petition closes on October 8.
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