One of Suffolk’s three most important roads is set to get shorter.

The A12 – which runs from east London to Great Yarmouth – will be losing part of its mileage because it will be renamed the A47.

The section between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft will be renumbered as the A47 “to better reflect the route’s nature as a continuous corridor”.

The A47 currently runs across country 115 miles from the west of Peterborough to the east coast and has been part of a Highways England study ready for a £300million improvements project.

Work has started this week on the renaming with contractors putting in new signs to alert drivers.

A Highways England spokesman said: “This work is being carried out as part of the improvements to the A47/A12 corridor. We will be replacing road signs that currently show the A12 to now show the A47. The work will take approximately 12 weeks to complete.”

In all, 188 signs will be affected – most are having stickers to show the A47, and 42 older signs will be replaced.

The work will stretch back as far as the A12 Friday Street / Aldeburgh junction of the A1094, which will have lane closure to install sign foundations from tonight between 7pm and 7am.

There is also be work at the A12 at Blythburgh where temporary traffic lights are in place from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

The A12 will also have southbound lane closures between Stirupps Lane and Market Lane from January 20 to January 24 between 8pm and 6am, and southbound and northbound closures at Rackhams Corner and Stirrups Lane from January 18 to January 19, 8pm to 6am.

Tower Road, Lowestoft, will have two-way traffic signals until 3.30pm tomorrow, and the A12 Bloodmoor Road, Lowestoft, will have two-way signals until 7am tomorrow.