HIGHWAYS experts are to look at the recent spate of crashes on the A14 between Seven Hills and the Orwell Bridge to see if they form part of a longer pattern of incidents.

The Highways Agency analyses accidents to see why they happened – and assess if safety action is needed to trunk roads to prevent further incidents in future.

Two weeks ago, the A14 was closed for more than a day after two accidents a mile apart on the westbound carriageway.

In the first incident a lorry overturned spilling thousands of onions across the carriageway.

Just 18 minutes after the clean-up was complete and the road re-opened, three lorries were in collision on the same stretch, forcing its closure again.

This week the Orwell Bridge was closed again for nearly two hours after a trailer on a vehicle became loose, a car smashed into it and then several others were also caught up in the chaos. Police said there were only minor injuries among the drivers involved.

A spokeswoman for the Highways Agency said all accidents which closed the road were assessed.

“Safety is our top priority and we work closely with the police to monitor any areas of concern on our road network,” she said.

“We actively monitor accident data to identify potential problem areas.

“This data allows us to examine where clusters of accidents occur on our road network.

“The data reviews the last three years so that we can see any particular trends that are developing.

“We use this information to drive our safety improvement programme and address any areas of potential concern.”