FELIXSTOWE/TRIMLEY: Motorists were hoping for a smoother journey today after being hit with heavy traffic due to an overturned lorry on the A14.

The lorry, which was carrying heavy machinery, came to grief yesterday afternoon on the outside lane of dual carriageway near Trimley St Mary.

The incident happened near the Dock Spur roundabout, where improvement works recently started to accommodate extra traffic generated by the expansion of the Port of Felixstowe.

The driver walked away with cuts and bruises despite the vehicle falling on to the driver’s side. A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said: “Fortunately, it looks like he (the driver) is all right.”

At the scene, the heavy machinery which the lorry had been transporting was found lying on the ground.

Police were called to the scene at around 4.10pm and set up diversions, which led to heavy traffic.

After the carriageway around the lorry had been cordoned off, they were able to reopen one lane.

Residents in Spriteshall Lane, Trimley St Mary, which is close to the road, told how they heard a “massive bang”. They also said several crashes had occurred there over the years.

Jackie Palmer said: “We just heard a massive bang.

“I was sitting inside reading with my son when we heard it. We know the sound when a lorry turns over so we came out and that’s what we found.”

Police said work began at 9pm to remove the lorry.

Last night, they said they did not know how the accident happened.

Improvement work started last week on the Dock Spur roundabout, which includes an increase in the number of lanes on the roundabout as well as some of the approaches. The scheme is being funded by the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company as a condition to the planning permission for the expansion to the Port of Felixstowe.