Question marks have been raised over whether plans for the closure of the Orwell Bridge during high winds are fit for purpose, after a contingency plan revealed the impact it would have on Ipswich’s roads.

Last month, the Orwell Bridge was closed for around 12 hours because of strong winds, which brought the entire town and roads leading into Ipswich, including the A12 and A14, to a standstill.

Some motorists were reporting journey times of more than three hours from one side of the town to the other.

In January last year, the Orwell Bridge high wind protocol briefing paper was published outlining the procedure for when the bridge is closed.

But despite recognising the impact such a closure has on the town, no alternatives, suggestions or solutions are offered in the document.

The paper said: “The route takes vehicles off the strategic road network on to the local road network, following the A1214 and A1156 for an additional 14.5km through Ipswich. The use of this route has the potential to cause considerable congestion on local roads and significant loss of journey time reliability for diverted trunk road and local traffic.”

And after the gridlock across Ipswich when the bridge was last closed, Ipswich MP Ben Gummer has said more needs to be done.

“I am still not convinced we are doing everything we can to make sure traffic congestion is limited when the bridge is shut,” he said.

“We have got to make sure that Highways England, the county council and the police are doing everything they can to limit the chaos that bridge closure brings to Ipswich.

“But we are not going to solve any of this until we have built new infrastructure that will relieve the pressure.”

It is hoped the wet dock crossing will ease congestion around the Waterfront and one-way system, while Mr Gummer said the northern bypass was another option.

“I hope that shortly we will be able to announce the right option for relief roads to the north of the town, but people have got to be clear that if even we go very far with that, which I am determined to do, it’s going to be a long-term project and will not therefore provide the relief we need in the short term,” he added.

While the bridge is operated by Highways England, the closure plan is agreed by Highways England, Suffolk County Council and emergency services.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that on November 22, wind speeds of up to 80mph were picked up by the bridge’s gauge, which triggered the level four action of bridge closure for winds consistently above 60mph.

A Highways England spokeswoman said: “Safety is our top priority and we only introduce wind-based restrictions over the Orwell Bridge where the conditions pose a clear threat to safety. The diversion routes we use are clearly signed and are agreed in advance with local authorities and the emergency services. We do all we can to keep drivers up to date, and to reopen the bridge as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Suffolk County Council re-iterated Highways England’s safety message, but said it would evaluate its communication with the public when a bridge closure is likely to take place to give people more time to plan their journeys.

James Finch, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “When Highways England needs to close the Orwell Bridge for safety reasons, traffic inevitably needs to find alternative routes and congestion increases around Ipswich.

“Taking such a decision is a very rare occurrence and is done to ensure the safety of all road users, and Highways England always informs us.

“What we need to do is question the communications channels in the process and better target delivery of messages around alternative routes during such closures.”

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