Road to reopen in March after delayed bridge works

A road that has been closed for six months for bridge replacement works will reopen within the next six weeks, a highways team said.

The A1088 at Bridge Farm Bridge at Stowlangtoft, near Bury St Edmunds, is being upgraded.

The road initially closed in July with an expected reopening date in December, but issues with concrete columns caused delays.

Work was under way again in late October and Suffolk County Council's highways department said it aimed to complete the work by the first week of March.

In a statement on social media, Suffolk Highways said it was working on concrete slabs for the new bridge this week.

Following this teams will install new drainage and "backfill the excavations on either side of the bridge", before the bridge deck is waterproofed and kerbs and ducting installed.

"Following this, teams will lay asphalt surfacing across the new bridge and on both approaches, including new road markings," the statement said.

"The final stages of the project will see us divert utility cables across the new bridge before we remove the site compound to enable the road to reopen.

"The above is weather-dependent, but we are hopeful the scheme will be completed in the first week in March, with this being a week later than originally planned to accommodate works being carried out by UK Power Networks."

In early October, the project was "temporarily paused for a brief period" after issues were found with concrete columns.

Suffolk Highways apologised for the delay and explained it would not be safe to reopen the road while the works were paused.

Work recommenced and earlier this month Paul West, the council's cabinet member for Ipswich, operational highways and flooding, said he was "incredibly grateful to the local community for their patience".

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