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| Route information | |
| Length | 27 mi (43 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| North-west end | Norwich (A140) 52°36′46″N1°16′54″E / 52.6127°N 1.2818°E /52.6127; 1.2818 (A146 road (northwestern end)) |
| Major intersections |  A140 A1054 A47B1332 toBungay B1136 toGreat Yarmouth  A143 A145 A1117 |
| South-east end | Lowestoft (A1117) 52°28′07″N1°42′25″E / 52.4687°N 1.7070°E /52.4687; 1.7070 (A146 road (southeastern end)) |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Primary destinations | Beccles |
| Road network | |
TheA146 is anA road that connectsNorwich inNorfolk andLowestoft inSuffolk, two ofEast Anglia's largest population centres. It is around 27 miles (43 km) in length and has primary classification along its entire route. It is mainly single carriageway throughout its route, with the exception of a section of dual carriageway on the southern edge of Norwich.
The A146 begins inNorwich before passing through a mainly rural area on its route to the eastern edge ofLowestoft.
The A146 starts to the south of Norwich city centre as part of the city ring road. It begins at a junction with theA140Ipswich Road[1] and forms a section of the ring road which is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, running to the east where it reaches a junction with theA1054.[2][3] The A146 then runs south-easterly out of the city, a direction it generally continues in for the rest of its route, initially as a section of dual carriageway around 1 mile (1.6 km) in length, crossing the mainNorwich to London railway line and theRiver Yare and bypassing the village ofTrowse. The road passes under theA47 southern bypass with junctions controlled by traffic lights allowing access to and from the A47 and reaches a junction with the B1332, the former northern terminus of theA144.[2][4]
Before the construction of the southern bypass the A146 began in the centre of Norwich and ran through Trowse.
After leaving Norwich the A146 returns to a single carriageway and runs through a rural section towards the town ofBeccles on theNorfolk-Suffolk border. It passes through the parish ofHellington before reaching the village ofThurton where a 40 mph (64 km/h) speed limit is in force. After passing the grounds ofLangley School it then bypasses the village ofChedgrave and the market town ofLoddon, crossing theRiver Chet in the process. The route formerly passed through both of these settlements.[4]
The road then passes the edge of the village ofHales at the roundabout leading to the B1136 forGreat Yarmouth. Between Hales andStockton several old stretches of the route can be seen in what are now laybys. It then reaches theA143 at a roundabout with the route toBungay going west. The road briefly becomes the A143 for around 1 mile (1.6 km) before another roundabout on the northern edge ofGillingham where the A143 continues to the north-east towards Great Yarmouth. A service station and fast food restaurant are located at this junction.[2]
The road then bypasses Gillingham and crosses theRiver Waveney, passing into Suffolk, before reaching the northern edge of the market town of Beccles at a roundabout.[2] It formerly passed through Gillingham and crossed the Waveney at the narrow Beccles Old Bridge before passing through the town andWorlingham to the east.[4]
The road passes to the north of Beccles and crosses theLowestoft to Ipswich railway line at a level crossing. It passes Beccles Common and to the north ofWorlingham, travelling now in a more easterly direction before rejoining its original route near the villages ofNorth Cove, where there is a roundabout junction with theA145, andBarnby.[4] Both villages are bypassed to the south by the modern road before it reaches the edge of the Lowestoft built up area atCarlton Colville. A relief road, the A1145, links Carlton Colville with the centre of Lowestoft whilst the A146 continues east.[2]
The road terminates at a junction with the A1117 inOulton Broad, just to the south ofOulton Broad South railway station.[5][2] The road previously ended at a junction with theA12 in the centre of Lowestoft.[4]
The A146 formerly started inNorwich city centre and ran into the centre ofLowestoft.[4] A range of improvements, including straightening of bends, have taken place over the years.Chedgrave andLoddon were bypassed in the 1970s.[6]Beccles,Worlingham andGillingham are also bypassed with theRiver Waveney crossed by Beccles New Bridge, replacing a 19th-century iron bridge which traffic used to have to cross in Beccles. The completion of theA47 Norwich southern bypass in 1992 created the dual carriageway section of the A146 on the edge of the city and bypassed the village ofTrowse.[7][8]
The A146 historically ran fromOulton Broad into the centre of Lowestoft along the route of what is today the B1531.[2][5][9] The route ran to the south ofLake Lothing and terminated just to the south of thebascule bridge at a junction with theA12 immediately to the south of the entrance to thePort of Lowestoft.[4][9]
In 2018 a roundabout was built to replace the Hales junction of the B1136 forGreat Yarmouth. In 2020 a roundabout was built at Loddon, replacing the staggered crossroads that linked the A146 withMundham Road and George Lane.
The route of the A146 passes near toNorwich railway station on theGreat Eastern Main Line and bothBeccles railway station andOulton Broad South railway station on theEast Suffolk Line. All stations are operated byAbellio Greater Anglia.
TheFirst Norfolk & Suffolk X2, X21 and X22 bus routes also use the road for much of the journey between Norwich and Lowestoft, with the X21 and X22 serving all population centres on the route, and the X2 bypassing Loddon.[10]
Download coordinates as:
A roads in Zone 1 of theGreat Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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52°32′24″N1°27′57″E / 52.5399°N 1.4659°E /52.5399; 1.4659 (A146 road)