What could solve Orwell Bridge traffic chaos?

Motorists have faced severe delays this week due to repair work on the Orwell Bridge near Ipswich.

Some businesses have reported losses due to the long delays, calling it "chaos", while others have criticised the timing of the works over the busy summer period.

National Highways said the work was essential, but appreciated disruption had been caused.

With at least seven weeks' worth of work still to go, will disruption worsen, and what solutions could there be?

National Highways began work, which is costing £6m, on 16 June to replace two expansion joints on the westbound carriageway over the Orwell Bridge.

The work is expected to finish in mid to late August.

The current joints date back to 1988 and are crucial for providing a flexible connection between bridge sections.

Once replaced, they are expected to last for 50 years.

National Highways has a series of lane closures, full closures and contraflow systems it is putting in place during the works.

Since Monday, there has been a lane closure on the eastbound carriageway over the bridge, which has caused severe tailbacks.

Queues have gone back as far as Sproughton and caused delays on the A12 at the Copdock Interchange.

Drivers have also been making use of local roads in an attempt to divert away from the traffic, which has caused other knock-on delays.

National Highways warned traffic was expected to worsen from Thursday, when a lane closure would also be implemented on the westbound carriageway.

However, it said on Wednesday night it had delayed this to overnight on Friday and would be fully operational from 06:00 BST Saturday.

Martin Fellows, regional director for the East Region at National Highways, thanked drivers for their patience.

"We remain confident that all works will be completed by mid to late August, as originally planned," he said.

"The A14 will still be your best route whilst we are doing this work, so please stay on the A14, but allow extra time for your journey."

While no date has yet been given, National Highways has said it would need to replace the eastbound carriageway's expansion joints as well at some point.

It would be expected that similar closures would be needed for this.

The travel issues have sparked conversations around what mitigations could be put in place to counteract the delays drivers are facing.

One of the solutions spoken about was the Northern Bypass.

The plan has been discussed for a number of years, but confidence in it grew when Suffolk County Council seriously considered it several years ago.

In 2019, the county council launched a public consultation to gauge public interest in a relief road that would mitigate traffic issues seen in and around Ipswich.

Three possible routes were proposed that would link the A14/A140 and the A12.

However, in order to gain government funding, 15,000 new homes would need to be built - something people protested against due to environmental concerns.

The plans were then abandoned when the local authorities failed to agree on housing.

As well as another route, people have called for the speed limit over the bridge to be reduced to help lower the number of accidents.

It came after an economic report said the road was "not fit for purpose" due to repeated incidents caused by collisions and breakdowns.

However, Mr Fellows from National Highways said this could not happen without evidence to suggest it was needed.

Data given to the BBC earlier this year showed there had been a significant closure caused by collisions about every four days, on average, between 2021 and 2024.

Labour MP for Ipswich, Jack Abbott, has been vocal about his support for a Northern Bypass, or any solution that positively tackles the delays.

He claimed Conservative-led Suffolk County Council had adopted a "do-nothing approach", something he found "deeply frustrating".

"If Suffolk County Council and the Conservatives want to come to me and come forward with a different set of proposals, I'm all ears, I think we absolutely need to see progress," he said.

"It's deeply frustrating that five years since they canned the Northern Bypass, we've seen such little action here."

Businesses also caught up in this week's delays have called for the Northern Bypass to be considered again.

Dan Trent, owner of Dan's Coach Travel based in Stowmarket, said it was "needed".

"Whether I'm going to see it or not, who knows?" he continued.

"If we had that Northern Bypass now, we wouldn't have half of this trouble.

"Let's face it, it's not just the roadworks, there's quite often problems on the bridge, and that would take so much pressure off."

Suffolk County Council said it was committed to working to relieve the traffic issues around the A14 and Orwell Bridge.

"The council's cabinet voted in 2020 not to proceed with a bypass proposal because the business case required the building of 15,000 homes, which the district councils were not prepared to add above their local plans," a spokesperson said.

"This remains the position, and without that, and without substantial new government funding, it is simply not a viable proposal."

National Highways has been approached for comment, but has said previously it would "work hard to keep the strategic road network moving" and it supported "economic growth".

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