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Warning to avoid A12 roadworks after collisions

Vikki IrwinSuffolk political reporter
News imageZoie O'Brien/BBC The picture of is a junction on the A12 with the A1094 at Friday Street. There are multiple orange-and-white traffic cones arranged across the area. Red plastic barriers line the perimeter of the work area. In the background, there are a few cars using the junction and open countryside. Zoie O'Brien/BBC
The roadworks on the A12 junction with the A1094 at Friday Street began in the summer and will run until the spring

Drivers are being warned to avoid roadworks at a junction on the A12 in Suffolk after three collisions there in a week.

Independent East Suffolk councillor Julia Ewart said having collisions "night after night is not acceptable to the extent that I would like to tell the public please stay away from this area until the problem is solved".

Suffolk Police confirmed the three collisions had been reported to them.

Sizewell C, which is building a nuclear power station nearby and is in charge of the roadworks, said: "Following the incidents, we immediately began a full review of the site and our traffic management arrangements."

More than 15,000 vehicles use the stretch of A12, from the villages of Farnham and Stratford St Andrew to the junction with the A1094 for Aldeburgh, every day, according to the Department for Transport.

News imageJulia Ewart is standing outdoors in a grassy field on a sunny day. She is wearing a plaid-patterned coat in muted tones over a coral-coloured top, accessorized with a pearl necklace and a East Suffolk Council lanyard. Behind her there is a wooden fence and a tall metal basket-like structure on a pole.
Councillor Julia Ewart said accidents were happening "on a night by night basis"

Sizewell C is constructing a roundabout at the junction, which will be linked to a new bypass of the villages.

Mrs Ewart said she believed the longer nights had made the roads harder to navigate.

"The right-of-way has changed and it's made it quite difficult for people to understand what's going on," she said.

"It's then got a plethora of lights, and in the dark you actually can't see what's going on. On a night by night basis, there are accidents happening."

She added that she had brought the issue of "the treacherous site" to the attention of the Health and Safety Executive.

Suffolk Police also said it would continue to discuss traffic management in the area with the county council and Sizewell C.

News imageZoie O'Brien/BBC The picture shows a section of the A12 undergoing road works. The roads are lined with numerous orange-and-white traffic cones, many of which have small yellow warning lights attached. Two large signs showing drivers should go one way and that other sign is no entry.Zoie O'Brien/BBC
Sizewell C say they have done a review of their traffic management

A Sizewell C spokesperson said: "Following the incidents reported last week, we immediately began a full review of the site and our traffic management arrangements.

"As a precaution, contractors have installed lower-height barriers to improve visibility, and Vehicle Activated Speed Signs will soon be added at key approach points.

"This review will be completed by 26 November and shared with Suffolk County Council Highways and Suffolk Constabulary."

A spokesperson for Suffolk County Council said that as the highways authority, it was working with Sizewell C in reviewing traffic management arrangements in the Friday Street junction roadworks.

The works are likely to be in place until the spring.

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