A12 road scheme in Suffolk receives £54m from government

Richard Smith said the scheme would help deal with the "critical bottleneck" on the single carriageway section of the A12 west of Woodbridge

Key roundabouts on a major road are to be upgraded after a council secured £54m in government funding.

It is part of a £64m scheme to improve the A12 in Suffolk and includes dualling the carriageway on the outskirts of Woodbridge.

The rest of the funding will come from developer contributions, including from Sizewell C and Brightwell Lakes.

County councillor Richard Smith said the scheme would "future-proof the A12 and deliver major benefits".

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The A12 links the county's two biggest towns, Ipswich and Lowestoft, and is mostly single carriageway.

'Critical bottleneck'

The road would see improvements to roundabouts between the Seven Hill interchange east of Ipswich and the A1152 roundabout north of Woodbridge.

The existing single carriageway west of Woodbridge would be dualled between the B1438 Seckford Hall junction and the B1079 Grundisburgh Road roundabout.

Planners said: "The scheme has been designed to minimise any tree and hedgerow removal and any residual tree losses will be compensated for with additional tree planting alongside the A12."

The scheme would also deliver improvements to bus links and walking and cycling connections, the council said.

Mr Smith, the council's cabinet member for economic development, transport strategy and waste, said: "[The A12] is a critical bottleneck in accessing the East Suffolk coast, which is the location of several Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, including Sizewell C.

"This funding will allow us to meet the timescales of Sizewell C [the proposed nuclear power station] and minimise congestion and network disruption during its construction."