A14 Orwell Bridge: Call for Ipswich congestion solution during closures

Following an accident on the A14 Orwell Bridge last week, much of Ipswich became gridlocked as drivers tried to find alternative routes. It is a familiar issue for people in the Suffolk county town, but is there a solution?

The bridge, which is part of a major freight route between Felixstowe port and the Midlands, carries about 60,000 vehicles a day over the River Orwell to the south of the town. Many of them are lorries.

When it is closed, either by accidents, roadworks or severe weather, Ipswich town centre gets gridlocked.

In 2020, plans for a £500m Ipswich northern bypass were abandoned due to a "lack of political support", according to Suffolk County Council.

People in the town say with more housing planned and no alternative routes, the town will become even more congested in future.

Many residents still support a bypass or alternative travel options, though many living locally also have environmental concerns. Overall, political parties have struggled to find a way forward.

Resident Andrew Howard believes the bypass should have been built 40 years ago and says the problem will worsen with more homes being constructed.

"If they had built it years ago you wouldn't have half the problems. They never build to future-proof," he says.

David, who lives in Ipswich but works in Felixstowe, says a solution is "definitely" needed.

"Traffic is horrendous and now they're building new homes the town is going to need a bypass. It won't be able to cope with the amount of traffic," he says.

"I used to be a taxi driver in Ipswich and driving then was a nightmare as it was."

Protesters previously said building a new road would destroy the countryside by going through rural areas and villages.

David believes any disruption to residents living rurally would ultimately be worth it.

"I guess they won't be too happy about it, but they have to use the roads the same as us," he says.

Ignatius, who also lives in Ipswich, believes a bypass will "make life better" as people "always complain of traffic jams and it's even worse if there's an accident".

"There's always a problem with traffic. A bypass would make life easier for driver and be very useful," he says.

Plans for a £500m bypass were abandoned three years ago.

There were three proposed routes for the road, which would have linked the A14/A140 and the A12.

More than two-thirds of those who took part in a consultation opposed the road.

Proposed routes would have seen the road cross into Mid Suffolk, and the new leader of the Green Party-led council says returning to the idea of a road is not something his party would support.

"That idea is dead in the water," says Andy Mellen, leader of Mid Suffolk District Council.

"It was looked at recently by Ipswich and the county council. All parties agreed it couldn't go ahead.

"The only way to achieve that is to have a whole swathe of housing come alongside it to provide funding to help to make it happen, and there is no appetite for that to happen in villages north of Ipswich.

"I don't think it is in the cards at all and wouldn't have our support."

Instead he says other travel options to get people out of their cars should be explored.

Ipswich MP Tom Hunt, who co-chaired an Ipswich transport taskforce, says he still believes a bypass is necessary, but that current rules make it difficult to get the necessary funding.

"My position is clear on this, I support a northern bypass. I was very disappointed when two or three years ago it was made clear to me there wasn't the support across the county to move it ahead," he says.

"In the short term it's not likely, but I completely believe it is needed for the town," he adds, saying the town is a "nightmare" when the bridge closes.

He says the traffic problem is "only going to get worse" with new homes being built and a new nuclear reactor planned at Sizewell.

Labour's Neil MacDonald, the new leader of Ipswich Borough Council, says the idea of an Ipswich bypass has been around for decades with no progress.

"The northern bypass has been kicking around for years, decades, long before my time. It really needed to be put in about 40 years ago," he says.

Mr MacDonald says he can't see a bypass happening "any time soon", after a taskforce headed by Conservative Ipswich MPs Tom Hunt and Dan Poulter concluded it was not currently possible.

Asked about criticism that the infrastructure of the town cannot cope with more homes, he rejects claims the town is "always gridlocked" and concurs with the Greens that more sustainable travel is needed in the future to encourage people out of their cars.

"We're building more properties because there are more people," he says.

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