Orwell Bridge works set to finish early

Work first started on the bridge in June

Construction work on the Orwell Bridge is set to finish two weeks ahead of schedule.

National Highways has been replacing expansion joints since June, and the work has caused severe delays and congestion for some drivers near Ipswich.

However, National Highways said the essential project had "progressed very well and ahead of schedule".

Martin Fellows, the company's director of the east region, added: "It is very much weather dependent, but we aim to remove the contraflow in the next few days and fully open the bridge to traffic by the end of next week."

Some road closures will still be in place ahead of the finishing date.

On Saturday, the A14, between junctions 58 and 56, including junction 56 entry slip road, will be closed overnight, from 20:00 BST to 06:00 in the westbound direction, towards Cambridge.

National Highways said there would be overnight closures in the eastbound direction between junctions 55 and 57, towards Felixstowe, from Sunday to Tuesday.

It added that it would begin the process of removing the contraflow system and to get the road fully open by the end of next week.