Skip to content

New A47 bridge named in honour of 'heroic' campaigner

Mariam Issimdarand
Imogen Lee,Acle
Carol Charles Elderly Valerie Knights sits in a garden chair and looks at the camera. She is smiling.Carol Charles
A new bridge has been named after Valerie Knights, who helped some 100 victims of road crashes on the A47

A bridge built as part of a £90m project to dual a major stretch of the A47 has been named after a "heroic" campaigner for road safety.

The new bridge - linking two Norfolk villages - has been officially named Knights Bridge after Valerie Knights, of North Burlingham, who used to come to the aid of motorists involved in collisions on the road.

The bridge is part of works on a 2.6-mile (4.2km) stretch of the A47, replacing the existing single-lane section between Blofield and North Burlingham east of Norwich with a dual carriageway.

Knights' daughter, Carol Charles, was at the bridge opening and said her mother would "be very proud" the bridge was named after her.

A plaque has been placed on the bridge in honour of Knights, who died in April 2022 at the age of 94.

She was awarded an MBE for her community service in 1994, which also included setting up Acle Voluntary Aid.

Qays Najm/BBC Carol Charles has white hair and is standing on the new bridge spanning the A47. The road is empty of traffic. Charles wears a black, pink and white frock and a matching pink cardigan. Qays Najm/BBC
Carol Charles said that as a child she would often hear the "horrific" crashes along the road where the new bridge now stands

Charles said her mother had long-campaigned for increased road safety where the bridge is located.

She recalled how her mother would turn up with blankets "doing what needed to be done, calling the emergency services" to help those involved in an accident.

She added she used to hear the "quite horrific crashes" while living nearby as a child.

"So she would be very pleased to see this," said Charles. "But she would be quite amazed to see it named after her.. because she quietly got on with things."

Charles added: "She was never one to be in the spotlight."

Qays Najm/BBC Chris Griffin wears a dark-coloured suit and a white shirt. He is standing on the new bridge. A car is passing underneath it on the dualled carriageway.Qays Najm/BBC
Chris Griffin of National Highways said it was "fitting" the bridge was named after Valerie Knights

The bridge added over the dual carriageway connects the villages of Blofield and North Burlingham, and will take traffic from Blofield to join the A47 eastbound to Great Yarmouth.

Some 30,000 vehicles use that stretch of the A47 every day.

Chris Griffin, leading the Blofield project for National Highways, said: "It is only right and fitting that we name this bridge after her, which will stand as a lasting legacy to her selfless work helping more than 100 people involved in collisions here."

Shaun Whitmore/BBC A drone photograph of the A47 work at Blofield. To the left is the existing single-carriageway road. Next to it are the new carriageways, still under construction. There is a lot of standing water following heavy rain.Shaun Whitmore/BBC
National Highways said the project was close to completion

Work on the road improvement projects started in October 2024, following government approval in 2022, leaving drivers facing reduced speed limits while it was ongoing.

According to National Highways, it has reached its final stages with only local road surfacing, cycle ways and landscaping left to complete.

The scheme is one of three major upgrade projects currently taking place on the A47 in Norfolk.

Works at Tuddenham, between Norwich and Dereham, are set to finish in 2027 and improvements to the Thickthorn roundabout are due to be completed in 2028.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More related stories
Related internet links