Politicians and activists have once again called for an Ipswich northern bypass after the Orwell Bridge was closed for much of Friday.
Chaos ensued in Ipswich and on the A14 after planned roadworks overran on the eastbound carriageway.
Broken down machinery was unable to be moved and was stuck in position underneath the bridge, with a specialist vehicle required to travel from North Yorkshire to carry out repairs before it reopened on Friday evening.
Traffic was brought to a standstill as motorists attempted to find a way around the closure, triggering new calls to revive plans for a northern bypass.
Hopes for a new northern route came to an end in 2020 when the scheme was shelved and instead a task force was introduced to figure out how to improve the flow of traffic around Ipswich.
But those in favour of the bypass criticised the task force for lack of action earlier this year.
One member of the Orwell Ahead campaign group, Mark Ling, said Friday’s chaos proved once again a bypass was the answer.
He said: “Ipswich and Felixstowe's business and political leaders, and residents, will come to deeply regret the various council's decision not to support the Ipswich northern bypass, and screwing up the Orwell Crossings."
He added it was “a lost opportunity to equip the Greater Ipswich area, Ports of Felixstowe and Ipswich with the highway orbital infrastructure it needed for the next 50 years."
His views were echoed by the Labour and Co-operative prospective parliamentary candidate for Ipswich Jack Abbott who said: "The latest Orwell Bridge closure once again shows that, until a bypass or a meaningful alternative is delivered alongside a comprehensive transport infrastructure plan, Ipswich and Suffolk will continue to suffer.
“Ipswich’s poor infrastructure is not only hugely inconvenient for local residents, but it is also hurting businesses and shackling the economic prosperity of our local, and regional, economy.
"The truth is, years of inaction will lead to further Ipswich traffic chaos.
“When the Northern Bypass was scrapped by Suffolk County Council, a taskforce - chaired by Ipswich's Conservative MPs - was set up.
"Despite initially promising 'action and delivery', over three years later they admitted they’d made 'no meaningful change'. What a waste. What a failure.
“It’s clear there needs to be a holistic, decisive plan which recognises Ipswich’s crucial part of a wider ecosystem, with a bypass needing to be part of a transformative agenda.
“This all requires hard work, political focus, honesty, joined up thinking and leadership. We haven't had much of it in recent years.”
Ipswich MP Tom Hunt said following the chaos that he asked for an urgent meeting with National Highways to explain the disruption and in October said he was still in support of a northern bypass.
In a statement on Friday, he said: "I got caught up in this myself. It took me two-and-a-half hours to get from Copdock to the waterfront.
"Trust me, I get the huge frustration felt.
"It's unhealthy that we're so utterly dependent on the bridge being open. For the bulk of the day the town has been at a standstill. A huge set back for local businesses and Ipswich residents going about their day."
Despite the renewed calls, there are many in opposition to plans for a northern bypass, with the scheme axed in 2020 because more than two thirds of respondents to a consultation were against proposals.
As a result, East Suffolk, Babergh and Mid Suffolk Councils all confirmed they could not back the scheme, with Suffolk County Council's cabinet agreeing not to pursue a bid for funding following a meeting in February 2020.
At the time the news was welcomed by Nick Green, co-founder of the Stop the Northern Bypass campaign who said: "It's fantastic for everybody.
"Even for those who thought it would have been good news, all the work we did showed us that it would have been pretty horrendous for everybody."
Despite criticism, the taskforce, set up in 2020 after the bypass plan was scrapped, was able to pressure Highways England into introducing a variable speed limit on the Orwell Bridge, in an effort to reduce closures, especially in high winds.
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