Skip to content

A14 to fully reopen 'before lunchtime'

Neve Gordon-Farleighand
Lewis Adams
News imageJohn Fairhall/BBC An aerial view of the Orwell Bridge showing the northern bank of the estuary. Traffic is queuing on the eastbound carriageway, where two lanes are open as vehicles approach the lane closure. Traffic is flowing on the westbound carriageway, where both lanes are also open. John Fairhall/BBC
Traffic on the Orwell Bridge during the morning rush hour, where queues were forming on the approach to the eastbound lane closure

A lane closure on the A14 that has caused major delays for people heading to the Suffolk Show will be lifted "by lunchtime".

One lane of the eastbound carriageway has been closed between junction 57 at east Ipswich/Nacton, just past the Orwell Bridge, and junction 58 at Seven Hills.

Some 45,000 people are expected to be in the area for the first day of the annual county show at Trinity Park, along with regular Port of Felixstowe container traffic.

National Highways said high temperatures had disrupted an overnight resurfacing project which had meant the closure had continued into Wednesday morning. A spokesperson has now said: "We expect to have the road fully reopened before lunchtime."

Only one lane was closed when the work started on Monday, however a second was shut on the two-lane carriageway overnight on Tuesday in the hope of getting it finished.

The spokesperson said: "Our workforce were out in force through the night to resurface the A14 eastbound following a defect.

"Due to the warm temperatures, one lane has remained closed for the surface to cool. We thank motorists for their continued patience."

News imageJohn Fairhall/BBC An aerial view of the Orwell Bridge showing the southern bank of the estuary. Traffic is queuing on the eastbound carriageway, where two lanes are open as vehicles approach the lane closure. Traffic is flowing on the westbound carriageway, where both lanes are also open. A marina and south Ipswich are in the top right of the image. A road passes under the bridge on the left of the picture.John Fairhall/BBC
Container lorries on the Orwell Bridge as they head to the Port of Felixstowe on the eastbound carriageway
News imageNational Highways A traffic camera showing long queues of vehicles heading towards the Orwell Bridge in Ipswich. The other side - the westbound carriageway - is clear.National Highways
A traffic camera approaching the Orwell Bridge showed queues on the eastbound carriageway building shortly after 06:40 BST

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More on this story
Related internet links