MOTORISTS are set to face long delays as a massive eight-week safety inspection on the Orwell Bridge is carried out.From Saturday, June 4, the Ipswich-bound A14 carriageway will be down to one lane as the Highways Agency begins its inspection.

MOTORISTS are set to face long delays as a massive eight-week safety inspection on the Orwell Bridge is carried out.

From Saturday, June 4, the Ipswich-bound A14 carriageway will be down to one lane as the Highways Agency begins its inspection. With one lane of the Felixstowe-bound carriage being closed at a later during the work.

A 24-hour 40mph speed limit will also be in force for the safety of workers on the bridge.

The inspection will use abseiling experts and hydraulic platforms to check the safety and structure of the 23-year old bridge.

There will also be rolling road blocks occasionally overnight during the eight weeks when radiographic work will be carried out to check the reinforcing steel in the bridge structure.

Brian Pitkin, Highways Agency project manager, said: "The A14 Orwell Bridge is an impressive concrete structure at 148ft high and almost a mile in length. The bridge undergoes a principal inspection every six years as part of its regular maintenance.

"During the inspection we will also carry out essential maintenance work, such as cleaning the gullies along the carriageways and routine checks on the navigation lights needed to guide ships under the bridge.

"I would like to remind drivers to plan their journeys, observe the speed limit and to allow extra time for their journeys."