Following the gridlock caused by the emergency repairs on the A14 due to the diesel spillage last week, Felixstowe Town Councillors are calling for the relevant authorities to revisit the programme of works and review emergency measures.
Whilst the Town Council understands that emergency repairs can sometimes cause unavoidable congestion if they interact with planned works, it believes that the sheer volume of current highways works in the area increases the risk of a reoccurrence of the significant scenes witnessed on Thursday, 2nd September.
With traffic flow already affected by ongoing works along some of Felixstowe’s main roads – including those on Candlet Road which are set to continue for several months with the prospect of a full road closure for two weeks in October – Town Councillors are concerned that the town remains vulnerable to severe congestion.
Mayor of Felixstowe, Cllr Mark Jepson, said: “The Town Council will be liaising with Suffolk Highways, the Police and Highways England to review last week’s incident and look at ways to ensure our residents, workers and visitors don’t have to endure that gridlock again. As a minimum we expect police resources to have been made immediately available to assist traffic flow so we will also be seeking reassurance that emergency support will be on hand in future.
Update 6.10.21:
Subsequent to further discussions, the Mayor has written to the Suffolk County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, and a number of other agencies, to raise the Town Council’s concerns.
A copy of the letter can be seen here: FTC to SCC Highways 6.10.21