DRIVERS using the A14 between Ipswich and Stowmarket face four months of delays.However the government's Highways Agency is having to reissue its public notices warning about the work - because they put the A14 in the wrong county.
By Paul Geater
paul.geater@eveningstar.co.uk
DRIVERS using the A14 between Ipswich and Stowmarket face four months of delays.
However the government's Highways Agency is having to reissue its public notices warning about the work – because they put the A14 in the wrong county.
The notice, published in The Evening Star, described the stretch of the A14 between Beacon Hill and Stowmarket as being in "the County of Essex."
The blunder, which was repeated in other press notices, means that the warning now has to be reprinted – otherwise the speed limit would be unenforceable.
"We have spotted this – and will be re-advertising. But rest assured, the people doing the work know where they're going!" said a spokeswoman for the Highways Agency.
During the work a 40mph speed limit will be in force to ensure the safety of contractors working on the road.
And from late February the agency is having about 15 weeks of work carried out to standardise road signs on the A12 Copdock Mill interchange area, with the northbound carriageway also subject to a 40mph limit.
The agency is urging motorists to drive safely through roadworks, despite any frustrations, amid a mounting death toll among road workers. "Eleven road workers were killed in Highways Agency roadworks between October 2000 and February 2002 by moving traffic," said the spokeswoman.
"This equates to a 1 in 1000 chance of being killed. The Highways Agency, with the support of the Driving Standards Agency and the Department for Transport, has created six messages to raise driver awareness to help prevent accidents.
"Keep to the speed limit, it is there for your safety. Get into the correct lane in good time, don't keep switching. Concentrate on the road ahead, not the roadworks. Be alert for works traffic leaving or entering roadworks. Keep a safe distance, there could be queues in front;, and observe all signs, they are there to help you.''
The emergency services will be exempt from the restrictions during the work on both the A14 and the A12.
n A14 high-tech corridor study – see page 23.
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