Ipswich's Orwell Bridge lanes to close overnight for 10 days

Routine structural surveys of the Orwell Bridge are carried out every six years

Lanes on the Orwell Bridge will be closed overnight for 10 nights to allow structural survey work to take place.

The westbound carriageway on the bridge, which carries the A14 over the river at Ipswich, will be closed on weekday nights from Monday.

The following week the eastbound carriageway will be closed for five nights.

National Highways senior engineer Simon Oakhill said: "We appreciate people's patience while we complete this work."

He said the underside of the bridge decks would be checked during the routine inspection.

Contractors Up and Under are carrying out the structural survey

The vertical supports and internal sections of the bridge were inspected during the summer, but the remaining work was postponed due to bad weather.

Work will begin on Monday, when the westbound carriageway will be closed between J58 and J56 from 20:00 GMT to 06:00 the following day. This will be repeated each weeknight until 25 November.

From 27 November, the eastbound carriageway will be closed between J55 and J58 from 20:00 to 06:00 the following day. This will be repeated each weeknight until 2 December, with one exception.

On 29 November, the closure will be pushed back to 22:00 to accommodate football supporters leaving Ipswich's Portman Road Stadium who need to get home.

During the second week, one lane of the westbound carriageway will also be closed to allow maintenance work to be carried out on the central reservation.

The vertical supports and internal sections of the bridge were inspected during the summer

Mr Oakhill said: "We are trying to minimise any inconvenience by carrying out this work at night when the road is at its quietest.

"We are also combining other maintenance work to the central barrier, to avoid further closures at a later date."

Westbound traffic will be diverted from J58 of the A14 on to the A12 and the A1214, before heading westward to the north of Ipswich town centre, and back down to re-join the A14 at J55.

Eastbound traffic will follow the same route in reverse.

Mr Oakhill continued: "We understand the inconvenience closing the bridge has across the region and we appreciate people's patience while we complete this work.

"If you normally use the bridge during the closure times, please allow yourself extra time to complete your journey."