Be prepared for five weeks of traffic misery on Norwich Road!

Work starts today on remodelling Barrack Corner as the latest part of the £21 million Travel Ipswich project.

And after last year’s chaos when temporary traffic lights were installed just down the road at the Bramford Road junction, traffic experts at the county council are braced for problems.

Suffolk County Councillor with responsibility for transport Graham Newman accepted that the work was likely to cause major disruption.

He said: “We saw when there was work at the Bramford Road junction last September that work at Norwich Road can cause real congestion – so my advice to motorists would be to find an alternative route into the town if at all possible.”

New traffic signals are to be installed and the road will be re-aligned to make it safer and easier for both motorists and pedestrians.

However the major work is expected to cause a headache for drivers while it is going on – and there are fears that other roads in the area could also become congested as motorists seek out different routes.

The Barrack Corner work is one of the last major developments of the Travel Ipswich project. Once this is completed by the end of May, the only remaining major work is the partial pedestrianisation of Queen Street and Princes Street.

Mr Newman was speaking after attending a summit meeting attended by contractors and utility companies aimed at ensuring road works are properly co-ordinated.

The meeting was called in the wake of last year’s debacle when National Grid told the county council it wanted to dig up Silent Street only days after a four-month rebuild had been completed.

National Grid eventually agreed to put off the work until nearer 2020.

Mr Newman said: “The meeting was very positive. We didn’t reach any firm conclusions, but there was an understanding that these things should be co-ordinated better in the future.”