Fifty million litres of water pumped off A14

Rainwater has overwhelmed the A14 near Newmarket for months

Workers have pumped more than 50 million litres of rainwater off a section of the A14 that has been continually flooded during the last couple of months.

There has been disruption since 22 February on the eastbound carriageway, between junctions 37 and 38 at Newmarket on the Cambridgeshire-Suffolk border.

One of three lanes remains closed while pumping continues, which has led to long delays.

National Highways said it hoped to have the whole carriageway opened "within days".

Engineers have been working round-the-clock to get the water removed

Heavy rain and a natural dip in the landscape on this particular section have contributed to heavy flooding.

Martin Fellows, from National Highways, said: "We've seen unprecedented levels of rain in this area for several months now.

"There has been three hundred percent more rain falling than normal, leading to seriously high water levels. As soon as we've been able to pump water off the carriageway, it's returned just as quickly."

'The perfect storm'

Large pumps have been brought in to remove the water from the carriageway

When the road first became flooded in February, workers manually pumped the water into tankers. Since then, permanent pumps have replaced them and have been operating 24 hours a day to get the water levels down.

Mr Fellows said: "Around two hundred metres of the carriageway has suffered. This section is in a dip, so with the heavy rainfall we've had 'the perfect storm'."

National Highways said the next step was to remove the remaining temporary pumps and reopen the nearside lane.

Martin Fellows, at National Highways, said "hopefully all lanes will be back up and running within days"

Mr Fellows said: "This is very much weather dependent and we have to make sure we pump the water away in an environmentally friendly way. But hopefully all lanes will be back up and running within days.

"We've put in around a mile-and-a-half of additional piping and are pumping water back towards Junction 37 on the A14 near Newmarket. But it takes time.

"We understand the public's frustration and ask that they remain tolerant. We'd also ask that people respect the temporary speed limit whilst work continues.

"In the longer term, we'll be looking at ways of ensuring this cannot happen again."

Giant pipes have been redistributing the flooded water