Orwell Bridge Closures during High Winds

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Andrew Stephenson)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Tom Hunt) for securing this important debate. The Minister for roads, Baroness Vere, is unable to take part in the debate and therefore it is my pleasure to respond on behalf of the Government.

My hon. Friend has raised this issue with the Minister for roads directly and I know that he is actively engaged with it, particularly through his involvement with the Ipswich transport taskforce. The issue of closures of the Orwell bridge in his constituency is not new and has been causing concern for his constituents for several years. As he pointed out, there have been 20 closures of this critical piece of infrastructure since 2013, with the average time that the bridge has been closed being four to five hours. In several instances, however, the closures have been well in excess of that average. The closures can and do cause havoc on the surrounding Ipswich roads, and the Government have, through Highways England, been pressing for the situation to be resolved.

My hon. Friend will be well aware of the work that has been undertaken by Highways England in recent months and I am pleased to say that progress is being made to change the speed restrictions on the bridge. This will allow the bridge to remain open in winds that would ordinarily have meant that it would shut. The work that Highways England has done, despite the difficulties of 2020, has meant that this issue, while still a problem today, is one that we expect to see improve significantly in the very near future.

I am aware that this has not been the swift, smooth ride that either Highways England or my hon. Friend expected when the process began. The closure of City University’s wind tunnel in response to the covid outbreak and the initial lockdown meant that there was an extension to the expected timetable. I acknowledge his concern that he will not see the speed restrictions implemented until early in the new year, having expected to see them in place for the winter season. Nevertheless, I am pleased that he was able to have a constructive meeting with the roads Minister and Highways England, and I am equally pleased that Highways England expects to be ready to introduce the new speed limit as soon as possible in 2021.

Highways England has always ensured that safety has remained, as my hon. Friend would agree it should, at the forefront of its work. It has engaged with a range of stakeholders, including the port of Felixstowe, the Met Office and Suffolk County Council. These engagements have helped to improve its forecasting for when the bridge will be closed as well as its communications with residents and businesses when the decision to close the bridge is being considered. Highways England has also made significant efforts to improve the diversion signage in the area. As well as that, Highways England has worked with academics to model options that would allow the bridge to remain open in higher winds than is currently the case.

My hon. Friend will be aware that Highways England is now engaged in taking forward the option to reduce speed limits from 60 mph to 40 mph for all vehicles using the bridge. In doing so, there are a number of steps that it needs to take. The first was the publication of the permanent traffic regulation order, which I am pleased to see was published on 13 November and will close in mid-December. This is a key part of the process in ensuring that all those affected by the change to the speed limit will have the chance to comment.

Following the closure of the permanent traffic regulation order, which Highways England does not expect to be contested, will be the delivery and installation of the new signs. Installation of the signs is a significant engineering undertaking. The weight and size of the signs is a significant factor to consider. They cannot compromise the structural integrity of what is a complex 40-year-old structure and they need to be able to withstand the weather conditions experienced on the bridge. Nevertheless, as my hon. Friend will be aware, this is an undertaking that Highways England is well prepared for. It expects, once design details and preparation works are complete, that the signs will be delivered and that installation will take place in January.

The last, essential step focuses on speed enforcement. There is no use having a speed limit if it is unenforceable, and Highways England has been closely engaged with the local police force to ensure that the right cameras are in place to enforce the new speed limit. My hon. Friend will be aware that this will be a new set of average speed cameras on the bridge.

What this means for my hon. Friend and his constituents is that the closures that have blighted the Orwell bridge and caused gridlock on the route and around Ipswich will be significantly reduced. Indeed, I am pleased to say that as a result of its work, Highways England expects to reduce the number of closures by as much as 80%. The work that it has done has been instrumental in getting us to a point where it will be possible to keep the Orwell bridge open in higher winds than has been the case in the past. The 20 closures since 2013 have been a real problem for the local community, as he explained, causing gridlock on surrounding roads, so I am pleased that the recent publication of the permanent traffic regulation order signals that an end is in sight.

None of this would have been possible without the tireless campaigning of my hon. Friend, who has been absolutely relentless in campaigning on this issue. More work is yet to be done. However, with the designs and the preparation work, as well as the delivery of the plans expected in January, I am confident that he and his constituents will rapidly see a huge reduction in the number of times the Orwell bridge is closed to traffic in the future.

Question put and agreed to.