Work starts early on £9m safety improvement scheme on A14 near Ipswich
A £9 million scheme to improve safety on the A14 near Ipswich is being delivered a year early thanks to the Government’s fiscal stimulus package.
Work to refurbish both carriageways of the A14 between the Claydon Interchange at junction 52 and the Copdock Interchange, where the A14 meets the A12 at junction 55 starts on Monday, 4 January 2010 and is expected to continue until the early summer. Work to improve drainage and safety barriers will also be carried out.
Transport Minister Chris Mole said:
“Fiscal stimulus funding from the Department for Transport is enabling the Highways Agency to deliver £400 million of accelerated works this financial year – part of the Government’s work to kick-start the economy and help ‘Build Britain’s Future’.
“Of this funding, £9 million is being invested to improve this section of the A14, a year earlier than planned.
“This investment will provide a much improved road surface. It will also deliver improved safety barriers, bringing safer journeys for users of this busy road.”
Mike Wherrett, Highways Agency Regional Performance Manager for the East of England, said:
“The fiscal stimulus investment from the Department for Transport has allowed us to start this scheme on the A14 in Suffolk a year earlier than planned. The A14 is a very busy road with a high percentage of heavy goods vehicles using it on a daily basis. Although this is major improvement work, we’re doing everything we can to keep disruption to a minimum, with contraflows in place at the weekend and lane closures in place overnight when traffic flows are lower.
“Road users are advised to allow extra time for their journeys, particularly at weekends, while these works take place. We advise drivers to plan their journeys before setting off by using the Highways Agency website www.highways.gov.uk/traffic: http://www.highways.gov.uk/traffic, tuning into the Agency’s ‘Traffic Radio’ and listening to local travel reports.”
The work will take place in two phases over a four-mile (6.4km) section of the A14.
The first phase of the work, which involves renewing safety barriers, drainage work and bridge repairs, will start on Monday 4 January with overnight lane closures to install the traffic management. From Monday 11 January there will be overnight lane closures in place between 7pm and 6am, along with contraflow running during weekends. For the safety of road users, a 50mph speed limit will be in place along the whole stretch of road throughout the duration of the project, which will be enforced with average speed cameras.
From 11 January until the end of March, there will be carriageway and slip road closures at Sproughton Interchange, junction 54, at weekends between 7pm on Fridays to 6am on Mondays. Clearly signed diversions will be in place whenever the Sproughton Interchange entry or exit slip roads are closed as follows:
- Eastbound entry slip road closure – traffic diverted along the westbound A14 to the A14/A1156 Whitehouse Interchange, junction 53, and back to the eastbound A14.
- Eastbound exit slip road closure – traffic will go via the eastbound A14 to the A14/A12 Copdock Interchange, junction 55, and back on to the westbound A14.
- Westbound entry slip road closure – traffic will be diverted via the eastbound A14 to the Copdock Interchange and back on to the westbound A14.
- Westbound exit slip road closure – traffic diverted via the westbound A14 to the Whitehouse Interchange and back on to the eastbound A14.
There will be further slip road closures during phase two of the work to treat the road surface, which is set to start at the end of March, and is due for completion by summer 2010.
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