Roadworks in Norwich's Queens Road to continue until May

Work on the £1m changes to Norwich's Queens Road, between St Stephens Roundabout and the city's bus station, has overrun by around four weeks, Norfolk County Council has confirmed.

Work on Queens Road in Norwich will continue until the middle of May. It was supposed to be completed in April (Image: Denise Bradley)

Construction started on January 8, with lane closures and traffic lights causing disruption and delays for traffic using the city's inner ring road.

Council bosses originally said the work would be completed by April 16, but it will now continue into next month.

New cycle parking takes shape as part of the Queens Road work (Image: Denise Bradley)

A spokesman for Norfolk County Council said: "Additional paving, surfacing and improvement to bus station access, plus signage outside of the original programme have extended work by around four weeks, with completion now expected mid-May."

Council leaders said the changes will bring benefits to bus passengers and pedestrians, speeding up journey times and reliability for buses entering Norwich Bus Station from Queens Road.

The changes being made to Norwich's Queens Road (Image: Norfolk County Council)

The work has included the creation of a short length of bus lane on Queens Road for buses turning left.

The carriageway along Queens Road has been widened to create space for the bus lane, while allowing two lanes for other traffic.

Council leaders say the work in Queens Road will improve bus reliability and speed (Image: Denise Bradley)

The changes have been paid for using a slice of the £32m of Transforming Cities money awarded by the Department for Transport, plus Bus Service Improvement Plan cash.

Work on Queens Road in Norwich (Image: Denise Bradley)

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Norwich Cycling Campaign had criticised the scheme, saying that the council was "ignoring cyclists".

A short section of painted cycle lane from St Stephens Roundabout to the bus station turn, with an advanced stop area for cyclists at the traffic lights has been removed.

And, unusually for Norwich, those on bicycles, will not be allowed in the bus lane.

Derek Williams, spokesman for the Norwich Cycling Campaign said: "It makes an already difficult road more dangerous for cycling and that is unacceptable."

Graham Plant, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport (Image: Norfolk County Council)

But Graham Plant, the Conservative-controlled County Hall cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said the ring road was "not used very much by cyclists".

He said: "One of the main aims of this scheme is to improve bus journey times into the bus station, but there are also improvements to pedestrian access and cycle parking."