Gas engineers had to put a temporary road closure in place on the A12 in Suffolk at the weekend after their preparations to replace gas mains were affected by high winds.

Motorists have complained they had no warning about the closure of the A12 close to Dobbies Garden Centre at Woodbridge on Sunday and reported a resulting build-up of traffic on residential roads in the town, including Old Barrack Road.

However, a spokesperson for gas company Cadent Gas said the unplanned closure had only been for one day from Sunday to Monday and had been enforced after an incident occurred while the team was setting up for the works.

READ MORE: A12 in Suffolk: Emergency lane closure at Woodbridge

"Last night and over the weekend, the wind had been quite high and they ran into a problem which they had to get resolved.

"The team were setting up a piece of work and they had to put a road closure into place. It was not part of the planned works," he added.

In an email sent to the EADT on Sunday, a motorist said there had been a lack of information advising motorists about the closure, while the only signage was a 'Road Closed' notice on the Ipswich side of the A12 roundabout at the garden centre.

READ MORE: Dualling of A12 at Woodbridge in Suffolk moves closer

No diversions were in place, she said, adding: "At the moment people are having to negotiate sometimes narrow residential streets which are becoming blocked/traffic moving very slowly in both directions even on a Sunday morning. 

"If still in place tomorrow it will seriously affect people's travel to work and school in Woodbridge and beyond and there will be implications for commercial traffic, including lorries in narrow streets."

The work to replace the gas mains, which is already under way, is being carried out to ensure that gas is able to continue flowing safely into buildings as the existing ageing mains are showing signs of corrosion.

READ MORE: Woodbridge: Lorry gets stuck following A12 diversion

However, an 800m length of the A12 will need to be dug up to access the mains and a series of road management measures are being put in place, including a narrowing of the carriageway to enable two-way traffic between November 13 and December 22.

There will be a two-night closure of the A12 approaching the garden centre roundabout on December 11 and 12, while the right hand lane of the southbound A12 will be closed between December 11 and 22.

A pathway on the roundabout will also be closed between December 11 and 22.

READ MORE: Woodbridge news