Civic Drive subway still waiting to reopen after six months

Suffolk Highways was requested to partially close the pedestrian subway at the junction where Civic Drive meets Norwich Road and the barriers surrounding were removed and put inside the entrances. 

The request to do so was made by a private company to allow wide loads to be taken into the town centre. 

However, six months after the request, the barriers have not been re-installed and the subway is not fully accessible.

Colin Kreidewolf took to X (formerly Twitter) to complain about this (Image: Newsquest)

Ipswich Borough Councillor Colin Kreidewolf raised questions about the reopening and said that the lack of barriers and a closed subway makes the place look "unkept and dangerous".

"The replacement barrier is on order apparently but there is no sign of the work being completed after what seems a long time," he added. 

The Cllr also tweeted the same concern, to which he received a reply from the Suffolk Highways which said: "We are awaiting specialist equipment to be installed by our contractors."

Hello Colin, we are awaiting specialist equipment to be installed by our contractors. Teams are chasing for an update on a delivery date. Thanks - Georgie

— Suffolk Highways (@Suff_highways) March 28, 2024

Pedestrians have been equally annoyed by these developments. 

John Hicks, a resident of the area that uses the underpass said: "It has been a pain to use this subway like this.

"There is no traffic signal for walking here, cars zoom past, and so the only way to go from home to the town is to walk a long way around to where the subway is open."

Pedestrian are annoyed about how long it has taken to re-open the subway (Image: Colin Kreidewolf)

A spokesperson from Suffolk Highways said the changes were more to the subway and its railings to let the abnormal loads move on the roads and limit the disruption caused.

"The subway railings have been re-fabricated and designed to be moveable which has taken time; however, the work is now complete and the railings are away for galvanisation," they added.

"As soon as we have a confirmed return date, an update will be issued."