A14 to close for fortnight when upgrade work starts

The A14 will be closed between Bury St Edmunds and Needham Market to allow a contraflow to be set up ahead of the upgrade works

A 20-mile (32km) stretch of the A14 will close for two weeks when upgrade works start, National Highways said.

It said reconstruction work to the dual carriageway in Suffolk between junctions 47a at Haughley and 49 at Tot Hill would start in February.

The road, however, would first need to be closed from junctions 43 at Bury St Edmunds and 51 at Needham Market for a fortnight to build a contraflow.

The road would be closed in one direction at a time.

Once the contraflow was in place, the road would be reduced to one lane in both directions during the works and the speed limit through that section would be cut to 50mph (80km/h), it added.

'Smoother and safer'

National Highways, which manages the country's main roads, said the eastern region had the highest concentration of concrete roads on its road network, including the A14, A12, A120 and M11.

It said the concrete surfaces, designed between the 1950s and 1970s, had an average life span of 50 years and they were now reaching the stage where they needed to be repaired or replaced.

The work on the A14 would improve the safety of the road surface and "provide a smoother and quieter journey" for road users, it said.

A National Highways spokesman said: "Rather than repairing the potholes and cracking, the whole carriageway will be reconstructed and relaid to ensure a smoother and safer ride.

"Once complete, we expect the life of the road surface to be extended by up to 40 more years, with fewer future closures for maintenance repairs, meaning more reliable journeys for road users."

Members of the public can find out more about the project at a series of events at the end of October in Woolpit, Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket and Elmswell.

The project is part of National Highways' £200m investment in 80 schemes across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.