Utility work at Wheatcroft junction starts on 7 September with a 40mph limit, Flawforth Lane shuts for a week, and the A52 scheme now runs to spring 2029.

Work on the A52 at Wheatcroft junction begins on Monday 7 September and is expected to last around three months. National Highways will divert gas, water, electricity and telecoms services ahead of the main rebuild of the junction where the A52 meets the A606 Melton Road.

A 40mph speed limit will be in place on that stretch of the A52 while the work goes on, along with lane closures.

The same update carries a bigger number. National Highways now says: “The overall scheme is expected to run from September 2026 until Spring 2029.” (National Highways, 21 August 2026)

The scheme summary at the top of that same page still reads “Start date 2017 End date 2027”. The two figures sit about two years apart on one page, and National Highways has not published an explanation for the difference.

The dates that will affect your journey

Two closures are already dated. Both fall in the same week.

  • 8am Monday 21 September to 6pm Friday 25 September: a section of Flawforth Lane, where it joins the A52, is closed. Flawforth Lane runs south from the Wheatcroft roundabout towards Ruddington.
  • Friday 25 to Monday 28 September, 8pm to 6am each night: part of the A52, Gamston Link Road, at Wheatcroft junction is closed overnight. The road reopens during the day.
  • November 2026: utility work starts at Nottingham Knight junction, where the A52 meets the A60 Loughborough Road, and is expected to last four months. National Highways says traffic management and closure details for that phase “will be shared in advance”.
Key dates for the A52 Nottingham junctions scheme Timeline showing utility work at Wheatcroft junction starting 7 September 2026 for around three months, Flawforth Lane closed 21 to 25 September 2026, overnight closures of the A52 Gamston Link Road from 25 to 28 September 2026, utility work at Nottingham Knight junction starting November 2026 for four months, and the whole scheme due to finish in spring 2029. A52 Nottingham junctions: what happens when Dates published by National Highways on 21 August 2026. Closures can change at short notice. Mon 7 September 2026 Utility diversions begin at Wheatcroft junction, about three months. 40mph limit on the A52. Mon 21 to Fri 25 September 2026 Flawforth Lane closed where it joins the A52, 8am Monday to 6pm Friday. Fri 25 to Mon 28 September 2026 A52 Gamston Link Road closed overnight, 8pm to 6am. Open during the day. November 2026 Utility work starts at Nottingham Knight junction, expected to last four months. Spring 2029 Whole scheme due to finish. The page summary still gives an end date of 2027. Source: National Highways, A52 Nottingham junctions, latest update 21 August 2026. Graphic by West Bridgford Live
The dated stages of the A52 junctions work, as published by National Highways.

Where the traffic goes instead

National Highways has published a diversion map for each closure, and the second one matters most in West Bridgford.

For the Flawforth Lane closure, the signed route runs west to Kirk Lane, north along the A60 Loughborough Road through Ruddington to the Nottingham Knight junction, then east along the A52 to Wheatcroft. (Diversion map)

For the overnight closure of the A52 Gamston Link Road, the signed route leaves the Wheatcroft roundabout and comes straight through the town: north along the A606 Melton Road through Edwalton and West Bridgford, then east along Radcliffe Road to rejoin the A52 at Gamston. (Diversion map)

Those are night hours, 8pm to 6am, so the volumes will be lower than a daytime diversion. It is still trunk road traffic routed along a residential high street for three nights.

What is being built

Both junctions are being converted from roundabouts into through-abouts. National Highways describes the change in plain terms: “you can travel straight through the junction instead of going around the roundabout”.

The land needed was secured through a Compulsory Purchase Order, confirmed by the Secretary of State for Transport on 13 November 2025 after a public inquiry in July 2025. Advance work followed: vegetation clearance under overnight lane closures between 23 February and 13 March 2026, then five weeks of surveys from early May. A main compound has been set up on private land off the A52 between the two junctions, and it stays there for the length of the job.

What it means for you

  • Neither junction appears on Nottinghamshire County Council’s roadworks listings. The A52, A46, A453 and M1 are National Highways roads. If you are looking for A52 information on a county map, you are looking in the wrong place.
  • Diarise 21 to 25 September if you use Flawforth Lane, and expect the A60 through Ruddington to carry the extra traffic that week.
  • If you live on Melton Road, Radcliffe Road or the streets off them, the three nights from 25 September are the ones to know about.
  • Plan for years, not months. Utility diversions at Wheatcroft run to roughly the start of December, Nottingham Knight starts in November and runs about four months, and the main construction follows. On National Highways’ own latest figure, that ends in spring 2029.
  • National Highways takes questions on the scheme by email at A52NottinghamJunctions@nationalhighways.co.uk.

Everything currently shut or advertised across the town is on our West Bridgford roadworks and travel page, including the gas mains work starting in Lady Bay on 31 August.

Sources