1.  This Order may be cited as the A47 Trunk Road (Postwick Interchange Slip Roads) Order 2014 and shall come into force on 24th March 2014.

2.  In this Order-

(1) all measurements of distance are measured along the route of the relevant highway; and

(a)(2) (a) "the new trunk roads" means the new slip roads;

(b)"the plan" means the plan numbered HA/10/NOD/006 marked "The A47 Trunk Road (Postwick Interchange Slip Roads) Order2014", signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport and deposited at Document Deposit Service, Communities and Local Government, Floor 13, Ashdown House, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex TN37 7GA; and

(c)"the slip roads" means the new highways which the Secretary of State proposes to construct along the routes described in the Schedule to this Order.

3.  The new slip roads shall become trunk roads from the date when this Order comes into force.

4.  The centre line of each of the trunk roads is indicated by a heavy black line on the plan.

5.  The Secretary of State directs as respects any part of a highway which crosses the route of any of the new trunk roads that-

(a)where the highway is maintainable at the public expense by a local highway authority, the part in question shall be maintained by that authority, and

(b)where the highway is not so maintainable and is not maintainable under a special enactment or by reason of tenure, enclosure or prescription, the Secretary of State shall be under no duty to maintain the part in question,

until, in either case, a date to be specified in a notice given by the Secretary of State to the highway authority for that highway. The date specified will not be later than the date on which the relevant route is opened for traffic.

Article 2(2)(c)

SCHEDULEROUTES OF THE SLIP ROADS

The routes of the slip roads are as follows:

Junction with the A1042 at Postwick Interchange

Two routes to connect the eastbound carriageway of the A47 Trunk Road with the A1042 Yarmouth Road Link Road (as proposed to be constructed by the Secretary of State) at Postwick Interchange (the slip road along these routes being respectively given the numbers 1, and 2 and 3 on the plan).

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

1.  The A47 trunk road provides a strategic east-west link between Great Yarmouth on the east coast of Norfolk and the Midlands. In Norfolk its route is diverted around the southern outskirts of Norwich between the villages of Easton in the west and Postwick in the east. At Postwick there is an interchange that connects the A47 with the A1042 Yarmouth Road that in turn allows access to the eastern outskirts of Norwich where a number of business parks providing local employment are located.

2.  Norwich is the premier centre for housing and employment within the north-eastern sector of the eastern region and also provides services to a wide rural area. The current East of England Plan proposes a significant expansion of the city and its wider policy area. As a result Norwich has been designated a Growth Point by central government.

3.  The A47 Postwick Interchange is currently operating near to its optimum capacity at peak times and is in need of improvement before this planned growth together with some already allocated development can be realised. These statutory orders reflect proposals that are designed to not only overcome the present problems but also allow the intended growth to be delivered without detriment to the safety of road users and to the benefit of the local economy.