Activity: Road Closures
Start date: 20th January 2025
End date: 13th January 2027
The Green Rail Route will be delivering freight to the project and will cross Abbey Road (close to the current junction at Lover’s Lane) and run through to the Temporary Construction Area. As part of the creation of this rail route, the junction of Abbey Road and Lover’s Lane will be realigned and a level crossing will be constructed on Abbey Road.
We have considered a number of traffic management options for the construction of the highway works associated with the Green Rail Route, including using temporary field accesses rather than Abbey Lane and temporary traffic signal solutions but these were not considered to provide an acceptable safe solution.
The construction of the Green Rail Route and associated activities means it would be unsafe for construction traffic, general traffic and Public Right of Way users to all use Abbey Lane without closing the road to general traffic. Abbey Lane will need to be closed to traffic from 20th January 2025 until the Green Rail Route highway works are complete. We have put the road closure in place until 13 January 2027, but we are striving for the road to be opened sooner than this.
Residents living within the road closure will have access to the highway as well as Public Right of Way users. We are also liaising with the local agricultural community to seek to provide controlled access to Abbey Lane for large agricultural vehicles, which cannot use the diversion route. As part of the consultation on the road closure, we have consulted the emergency services and they have not raised any concerns.
A plan showing the diversion route of the closure of Abbey Lane that has been agreed with Suffolk County Council and is via George Road, Moat Road and the B1122. This diversion route will be reviewed and may need to be amended once the construction of the Sizewell Link Road is underway. Any revisions to the diversion route will need to be agreed with Suffolk County Council and will be communicated to the local community and shared here.
As part of the highway works associated with the Green Rail Route, the junction of Abbey Road and Lover’s Lane will be realigned and a level crossing constructed at Abbey Road. The schedule for these works is:
Access Construction (mid-January 2025 – March 2025): We will create a new entrance on Lover’s Lane, so that machinery and vehicles can access the area. This will allow us to build the new junction layout and transport materials to and from the Temporary Construction Area. To keep traffic and people safe, we will use temporary traffic lights at the temporary entrance on Lover’s Lane.
Junction Construction (Spring 2025 – Autumn 2025): We will construct the new Lover’s Lane / Abbey Road junction in the land adjacent to the existing highway, minimising the disruption to the public. During this period, traffic management, such as traffic lights, will be deployed when required for utility works and to construct infrastructure which abuts the existing highway. During Autumn 2025, there will be weekend road closures to allow our teams to safely reconstruct parts of the existing road as there are changes in the proposed and existing levels of the carriageway.
Level Crossing Construction (Autumn 2025 – January 2026): We will construct the new level crossing across Abbey Road to facilitate the Green Rail Route. To construct this crossing, a temporary road will be installed to maintain traffic flows around the level crossing construction and to provide a safe working environment for our teams. This temporary road will be removed once the new level crossing across Abbey Road is completed. During this period, there will be weekend road closures to allow our teams to complete the construction of interface points with the existing carriageway.
Completion of Surrounding Earthworks (January 2026 – January 2027): Following the opening of the level crossing across Abbey Road, Abbey Lane will remain closed to facilitate the completion of ancillary works surrounding the level crossing and the Green Rail Route. These works include the completion of the diverted Bridleway 19, along with construction of noise mitigation bunds adjacent to the Green Rail Route. We are striving for Abbey Lane to be opened sooner than January 2027.
