Martin Fellows, National Highways’ east region director, says the agency will not cut the A14’s speed limit without evidence to suggest it is needed.
The A14 in Suffolk has seen a number of serious collisions in recent weeks leading to closures while a recent economic report found the road was “not fit for purpose” due to the “suffering” it caused local businesses, says the BBC.
The county’s crime and commissioner, Tim Passmore, called for a speed limit trial after data showed there had been a significant closure caused by collisions every four days between 2021 and 2024.
“We understand the impact that any incident or work on the A14 has when we forced to either close lanes or close the road all together,” said Fellows.
“We work very hard to maintain the road open as much as possible but the safety of everybody travelling on the A14 is our primary function and primary purpose.”
He added the agency worked hard to ensure the road kept moving at all times. Fellows stressed the agency made sure maintenance work was done overnight to limit disruption.
“Incidents do occur, we know this,” he continued.
“What we do do is we work with the emergency services and everybody else to clear those incidents as quickly as possible.
“We look at the causes of those incidents and whether there’s anything that can be done to alleviate the risks that cause these incidents.”
Pic: Mapillary
