Business leaders across Suffolk have called for "21st century infrastructure for a 21st century county" as disruption on the A14 continues to cause traffic chaos.
A two-vehicle crash on Tuesday saw severe delays of four miles on the Orwell Bridge, while a broken down car earlier last month caused chaos in Ipswich town centre during rush hour.
"As a result of decades of underinvestment, much of the road, rail and mobile infrastructure along Suffolk’s key transport corridors is no longer fit for the purposes of an advanced economy such as ours," said Paul Simon, head of public affairs and strategic communications at the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce.
"As shown by the recent spate of accidents along the A14 outside both Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, it only takes a comparatively minor incident to bring parts of the system to a juddering halt.
"This results in additional costs in late deliveries, lost orders and absent staff to our members and Suffolk’s wider business community.
"The reputational damage to Suffolk as being a good place for inward investment should also not be under-estimated."
Local politicians have drawn up a new transport strategy for Ipswich in a bid to look at ways of improving travel in the area.
The strategy has identified some of the major issues and is now asking for public response before coming up with specific solutions.
"Whilst there have been localised improvements of late, including a higher threshold before the Orwell Bridge is closed due to high winds, there have been too many cases of promised infrastructure improvements being downgraded or delayed," added Mr Simon.
"Quite simply, if we wish to shift gears from being ‘Sleepy Suffolk’ to becoming ‘Super-charged Suffolk’ and the sustainable prosperity that will follow, we need the tools to do the job: in short a 21st century infrastructure for a 21st century county."
A Suffolk Police spokesman said: "There have been three collisions on the A14 in the vicinity of the Orwell Bridge so far this week, which thankfully did not result in serious injury.
"Collisions often occur as a result of drivers not paying sufficient attention to the road and to other road users. Motorists should always adjust their speed to adhere to the posted speed limits and the conditions of the road, and should drive with due care and attention.
"We will continue to do all we can to provide enforcement and education around the ‘fatal four’ main causes of fatal and serious injury collisions, which are drink/drug driving; speeding; using a mobile phone; and not wearing a seatbelt."
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