As work continues on the Norwich NDR, council leader George Nobbs unveils one of the new scheme boards near Postwick. 

Phil Clifton, director of major highways for Balfour Beatty, said much of the route had been cleared since January, when the contract for the project was awarded. So far workmen have been clearing the site – chopping down trees, moving great crested newts, building new bat habitats, moving water, electricity and gas lines and setting up compounds and fence lines. Workers put down fences to contain the newts, then put out buckets with food in to lure them in, before relocating them to new sites. He said piling work on bridges would start soon, with 500 workers during peak construction.

Next year work the work will move on to surfacing, safety barriers, signs and road markings