Aerial photographs reveal progress on Long Stratton Bypass

Norfolk County Council hopes the 2.4 mile road will open at the end of next year after several months of construction.

And, as these photographs by aerial photographer Mike Page demonstrate, the road, which will stretch to the east of Long Stratton, is taking shape.

Work is progressing rapidly on the Long Stratton Bypass (Image: MIKE PAGE)

Work which contractor Octavius Infrastructure has been doing includes compacting the ground which the carriageway will be built on, while drainage ponds are being excavated.

READ MORE: Norwich Western Link is a 'zombie project' claim critics

The Long Stratton bypass carriageway takes shape (Image: Norfolk County Council)

And the council says a "significant milestone" has been reached, with the start of piling for a bridge which will go over the new bypass at Hall Lane.

Piling involves installing deep foundations beneath a structure, so the bridge's load is transferred below the surface.

A 60-tonne machine was used to drill holes for the pilings as part of work on the Long Stratton bypass (Image: Norfolk County Council)

A 60-tonne piling rig was used to drill eight 19.5-metre deep, metre diameter holes, into which concrete was pumped.

A 50-tonne crane then lowered a steel cage into the filled boreholes before the concrete set.

This month, there will be excavations around each pile and the top 'trimmed' to make it level, before pile caps are created using more steel and concrete.

The council says, once completed, that will mark one of the first visible signs of the new road bridge taking shape.

Work on the Long Stratton Bypass (Image: MIKE PAGE)

The bypass will start at a new roundabout junction at Church Lane to the north and will re-join the existing A140 near Oakside Farm to the south.

Preliminary work on the road began at the start of this year, with the main construction beginning in late May.

That followed the government's final approval of the council's full business case for the road.

More than 1,800 new homes are due to built in Long Stratton (Image: Mike Page)

The project is linked to plans for 1,800 homes in the town - and groundwork where they would be built has also begun.