People power aimed at dualling the final stretch of one of the region's most dangerous roads is gathering pace, as more than two thousand people signed a petition in the first few days of its launch.
The petition, launched by Norfolk County Council, in Elveden, on Friday, is aimed at accelerating the dualling of the A11 from the Fiveways roundabout, at Barton Mills, to Thetford.
The launch was attended by councillors, local MPs Christopher Fraser and Richard Spring and business groups, who believe the dualling will reduce accidents, cut congestion, improve business links, make the Government's planned growth for Thetford viable and improve traffic congestion in Brandon.
However, many representatives were late for the briefing due to an accident on the A11, highlighting the need for dualling work to start.
At the launch, Cllr Daniel Cox, leader of Norfolk County Council, said: "This is of the utmost importance to Norfolk and we believe anything is possible.
"We have not set a limit on the number of signatures we want to collect as this petition is not just about the names, it is about getting the message out and shouting in favour of the dualling of the road."
The petition, which is available to sign online or at Norfolk County Council's libraries, was then taken to Tesco, in Thetford, where hundreds of shoppers signed up.
Many Norfolk and Suffolk residents have already signed the online petition, including Mr Atkins, of Thetford, who said: "Too many people have already died on this stretch of the road, especially at the Elveden monument and Elveden Crossroads."
Terry Stanleick, of Thetford, said: "Stop hanging about and get on with it now."
Sarah-Jane Long, of Brandon, said: "Brandon will see a significant difference in traffic when this is completed. The sooner the better."
Business leaders across Norfolk have also drafted a letter to Ruth Kelly, secretary of state for transport, urging the dualling to take place to make the county more accessible and encourage more business investment to the area.
The letter is due to be sent to Whitehall later this month and has been influenced by a report published by the East of England Development Agency, which concluded the dualling could offer a £600 million economic boost to Norfolk and the East of England.
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