The Orwell Bridge

Scheduled maintenance

Like any major structure, the bridge needs frequent maintenance to keep it in a safe and serviceable condition.

Sometimes we need to close the bridge to keep road users and our team safe while we work.

We understand closures cause disruption to road users and local communities. We strive to keep the bridge open as often as we can.

Our work isn’t always visible. We may be carrying out repairs underneath the road surface, or waiting for construction materials to dry or set before continuing our work.

Essential maintenance - Summer 2025

From mid to late June, we’ll be doing essential maintenance on the A14 Orwell Bridge.

We need to remove and replace two bridge expansion joints on the westbound carriageway. This will keep the bridge working for many years to come.

We expect our work will take around 7 weeks. We’ll work over the summer to avoid high winds, but after:

• other local events such as Suffolk Show

We'll work around the clock. We'll keep the bridge open to traffic most of the time, with one lane of traffic in each direction in contraflow roadworks.

We'll need some full overnight closures but will keep them to a minimum.

While some delays are expected, the contraflow roadworks will let us:

• complete work as safely and quickly as possible
• minimise the disruption of diverting traffic through Ipswich.

We'll give you more information here closer to the start of works.

Why we restrict speed limits and close the bridge

The bridge is only closed when it’s essential for safety reasons, and for as little time as possible. It was previously closed to all traffic if there were gusts of wind of 50mph or more in certain directions, or gusts of 60mph or higher, regardless of wind direction.

From 25 January 2021, we made changes to the bridge to allow it to remain open more frequently during high winds, following extensive safety testing.

Now a new 40mph driving speed limit has been imposed and is used if there are wind speeds forecast of over 45mph. If wind speeds of 60mph or more are predicted, then the bridge is closed due to the safety risk to motorists. The 60mph driver speed limit remains in place on the bridge during low winds.

Protocol documents

Latest Orwell Bridge closure protocol document.

Previous Orwell Bridge closure protocol document.

View the latest bridge closure and wind speed reduction data.

Local weather forecast.

Technical reports

A report was specifically commissioned from independent experts at City, University of London using ground-breaking techniques, to better assess how wind speeds affect different types of vehicles on the bridge. It has identified new things that could help to keep the bridge open during high winds.

The findings are theoretical, and have now been tested using a wind tunnel. Read:

• our summary of the report
• the technical summary
• the full technical report
• the press release