MP calls for task force after bridge repair 'chaos'

A Labour MP called for a transport "task force" to be re-established after the partial closure of a bridge caused "chaos" for drivers.

Ipswich MP Jack Abbott said "numerous" people and businesses were being affected by emergency repairs on the A14 Orwell Bridge.

He wrote to Suffolk County Council and asked for the Ipswich Transportation Task Force to be revived, which had not met since 2023, and a bypass considered.

Mr Abbott also called for the postponement of other works in Ipswich, to ease traffic flow, while the bridge was being fixed.

The Orwell Bridge, near Ipswich, links the Port of Felixstowe, on the Suffolk coast, to other parts of the UK.

National Highways said a "complex" repair operation would continue into next week.

The westbound carriageway was reduced to one lane on 6 September, after a routine inspection revealed a "defect".

A National Highways spokeswoman said there would be overnight closures of the westbound carriageway between between 21:00BST and 05:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

She said diversions would be put in place.

"We appreciate the impact this will have on the local community but taking this course of action is necessary to ensure all road users remain safe," she said.

"We will carry out all work overnight when traffic levels are at their lowest to cause the least possible disruption."

Mr Abbott released a letter he had sent to Suffolk Council leader Matthew Hicks.

He wrote: “I have been contacted by numerous constituents and local businesses who have been affected by the closure of one lane of the Orwell Bridge, which is harming our local economy and causing chaos in our town."

Mr Abbott called for non-essential roadworks to be halted and said "now" was the "right time" for the Ipswich Transportation Task Force to be "reinstated".

He said the group could examined "strategic transport priorities in the area", including the "potential" of a "bypass north of the town".

Mr Abbott made a similar call for a bypass in December, before becoming an MP, after a bridge closure caused gridlock.

He said Ipswich would "continue to suffer" unless a bypass was built.

Therese Coffey, former Conservative MP, had also previously raised concerns and said she wanted a meeting with a National Highways boss.

An Ipswich organisation, which distributes food to charities and community groups across East Anglia said it had been affected by the bridge repairs.

"It's been a real headache," FareShare East Anglia's regional manager, Mike Barrett, told the BBC.

"It's a real log-jam.

"We are getting feedback from the charities saying, 'where's out stock?'."

He said money was being spent on extra fuel because of delays and re-touting and added: "Our concern is how long is it going to be?"

Driving instructor Thomas Horton, from Nacton, in Suffolk, said he was also suffering.

He said he had been forced to cancel lessons and was losing a "lot of money".

"It has been pretty significant," he told the BBC.

"I simply cannot make it to the lessons."

He feared the problem would get "worse and worse".

"We really do need a solution," he said.

"It is causing so many problems."

Paul Simon, head of public affairs at Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, told the BBC that the county's reputation was being damaged.

He said National Highways needed to bring forward planned maintenance so drivers and businesses could plan ahead.

"What a farce," he added. "Here you have the largest container port in the country and day in, day out there are problems on the bridge."

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