WITH more drama on the Orwell Bridge, we once again saw the importance of getting the A14 reopened as soon as possible after an accident.Yet again Ipswich and much of east Suffolk had to endure hours of traffic chaos as the emergency services struggled to clear the road.

WITH more drama on the Orwell Bridge, we once again saw the importance of getting the A14 reopened as soon as possible after an accident.

Yet again Ipswich and much of east Suffolk had to endure hours of traffic chaos as the emergency services struggled to clear the road.

The accident happened at lunchtime yesterday, but the emergency services took until the middle of the afternoon rush hour to reopen the road.

By that time the whole town was suffering from serious gridlock.

While it will always be necessary to close the road to free anyone trapped, clear the debris, and ensure it is safe, there must be much more attention paid to the speed shown by the emergency services in clearing up afterwards.

In these days of CCTV coverage, photographic evidence, and satellite navigation, is it really necessary to keep the road closed for so long while officers measure every aspect of the incident down to the last millimetre?

While the police clearly have their job to do in investigating accidents, their first priority must be to get the road reopened as quickly as possible to do its job of relieving traffic pressure in the town centre.

Yesterday's accident caused long delays for tens of thousands of drivers - which cost millions in terms of lost earnings and did untold damage to the atmosphere with stationary engines pumping tons of carbon dioxide into the air.

After earlier gridlock we were promised emergency services would work hard to ensure the roads were reopened quickly after accidents.

Yesterday those promises failed to materialise - and we should not have to face this kind of unnecessary gridlock again.