The Gedling Access Road will officially open for the first time later this month on March 22 - but some drivers have already been spotted using the new £49m route
Works on the 3.8km of new road began in January 2020 and once completed it will link the A612 with Mapperley Plains.
Construction teams have since moved 512,000 cubic metres of earth, equivalent to 204 Olympic swimming pools, laid 45,816 tonnes of tarmac and installed 30 kilometres of drainage pipes and cable ducts.
Planning for the road was first granted back in 2014 and, eight years later, it is finally set to be completed, albeit after months of delays and millions of pounds over budget.
The road will be officially Colliery Way when it opens to the general public.
But some people have reported being able to see traffic going up and down the road, even though it doesn't fully open for another week.
Pictures and video sent to Nottinghamshire Live, taken by a visitor to Gedling Country Park, show traffic using the new route on Monday, March 14.
So, can you use any sections of the Gedling Access Road - and where do you access them?
Well, from the bottom of the road, at it junction with Nottingham Road/Trent Valley Road near Burton Joyce, there is no access just yet.
The only opened section of the GAR we found was just off Lambley Lane.
The only vehicles allowed on rest of the road are those involved in its construction and it is still fenced off to the public. Having said that, it's possible to see how close it is to being finished and fully opened to the public.
Up the other end of the road, off Mapperley Plains, road users also can't access it yet.
Signs are in place instructing drivers on both sides of the road not to turn left or right into the new road and there are still works ongoing and cones in place around the junction.
The new road layout was first revealed in September last year, after it was closed to motorists for months while construction was ongoing.
At the small section of the road opened at Lambley Lane, motorists coming from near Gedling turn left at a first roundabout before being made to turn right onto a small section of the Gedling Access Road.
Road signs then instruct drivers to turn left back onto Lambley Lane which then follows on as normal towards the village of Lambley.
It's only a small portion of the finished road - which will open in full very soon.
Steve Noon, 55, who was out walking along nearby Spring Lane, said: "I was under the impression it wasn't opening for a while yet.
"I don't think anybody knows for sure, which isn't great. I think I'm just going to wait until I know everything is open before I start using it.
"It's been a long time coming, definitely."
Meanwhile another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told Nottinghamshire Live: "I know it's nearly finished because you can tell it actually looks like a road now.
"I think it's taken far too long, it's been a nightmare to be honest with you.
"But it's easy to moan and focus on the negative."
Have we missed any part of the GAR which is also open to the public? Let us know.
