Ipswich: Roadworks set to be halted over Christmas
ROADWORKS which have caused problems for motorists driving to and around the town centre are to be suspended from the end of the month.
The promise from the county council comes as one retailer warned that the work was having a devastating impact on his business.
Work on removing the Civic Drive/Princes Street roundabout will come to a halt at the end of November and engineers will concentrate on filling in the former subways under the roads.
The roadworks which have closed the junction between Portman Road and Princes Street for several weeks should be completed within the next fortnight, allowing this to open up again.
Major roadworks will resume in the middle of January, once the busiest sales time has finished.
The suspension cannot come soon enough for Jonathan Williamson, one of the partners at Wines of Interest in Handford Road.
He said: “We have noticed trade fall over the last few months as the traffic outside comes to a halt after one set of roadworks after another. We don’t get people popping in after a day at work. It has been very bad news for us.”
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He was relieved to hear the works would be suspended over Christmas, and said: “I just hope things are better once the roads are reopened and people realise the town is open for business.”
Wines of Interest is not in the Ipswich Central area, but a spokeswoman for the Business Improvement District (BID) said it was monitoring the effects of the roadworks.
She said Ipswich Central felt, so long as it was regularly pointed out that the town remained open for business, the roadworks should not cause too many problems for businesses in the run-up to Christmas.
n Have the roadworks put you off visiting the town centre? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN .
