Motorists and residents are being warned of overnight closures of the A14 near Stowmarket for up to a month.
Highways England is to carry out joints replacement work on the Hill House viaduct, which carries the railway line over the A14 between junctions 49 at Tot Hill interchange and junction 50 at Cedars Park.
There will be overnight closures of the road between the two junctions starting on Monday June 3 and residents are being warned of loud noise from the works.
Traffic will be diverted through Stowmarket via the A1120 and A1308 Gipping Way.
Highways England hope the overnight closures will avoid a repeat of the gridlock in the town from daytime emergency repairs to the bridge in 2017, but locals are being advised to plan ahead when travelling.
In a letter to residents, Highways England assistant service delivery manager Ashley Prigmore said: "Due to the need to shut the A14 between junctions 49 and 50 in one direction at any one time, significant additional traffic volumes are expected in Stowmarket.
"We are working with Suffolk Highways and the parish councils in and around Stowmarket to minimise the impacts as best we can but we strongly advise residents to plan their journeys prior to driving."
The programme is:
- Monday June 3-Friday June 7: Full closure of the A14 eastbound between 8pm to 6am for survey work.
- Friday June 14-Monday June 17: Full closure of the A14 eastbound for 24 hours a day joint replacement work on the viaduct. Residents are being warned of high noise levels.
- Friday June 21-Monday June 24: Full closure of the A14 westbound for a second weekend of joint replacement works.
- Monday July 1-Monday July 8: Full closure of the A14 westbound between 8pm and 6am for road resurfacing, kerbing and lining.
The weekends of June 28-July 1 and July 5-8 have also been set aside should works over-run.
"We have carefully planned and liaised with local stakeholders and the parish councils in and around Stowmarket to minimise impacts as best we can," said Mr Prigmore.
"We apologise for the local inconvenience and thank you for your patience whilst we carry out strategic maintenance to the road network."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here