Article: published on 8 March 2024

More than 11 million litres of water have been extracted from the flooded A14 in the past week, National Highways has said.

The flooding has caused disruption since 22 February on the A14 eastbound, between junction 37 at Newmarket and junction 38 for the A11/Red Lodge, on the Cambridgeshire-Suffolk border.

One of three lanes remains closed.

The amount of water extracted has been compared to the equivalent of four Olympic-sized swimming pools.

National Highways said the eastbound entry slip road at junction 37 reopened earlier, external, following overnight works.

Regional director Martin Fellows has apologised for the inconvenience caused to drivers and local communities in recent weeks.

Talking to BBC Radio Suffolk, he said: "We have been working very hard to solve the problem for several days.

"The prime problem is the ground water level - as quickly as we remove the water, the water is returning.

"We are working with lots of different angles to resolve this as quickly as possible."

He said the road had become saturated due to significant rainfall over the past few months and National Highways had started to look at alternative avenues to solve the flooding issue.

Further timed closures will be in place before all three lanes are fully reopened to traffic.

A National Highways spokesperson said: "The A14 eastbound will be fully closed tonight from 21:00 to 05:00 GMT between junction 37 and junction 38 to continue investigations and repairs works.

"The aim is to reopen an additional lane when conditions are safer, considering both weather conditions and pump functionality."

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