Long suffering villagers have spoken of their relief after months of roadworks on the A14 have finally come to an end. Reconstruction work on the carriageway, between Haughley and Tot Hill, near Stowmarket, came to an end last Saturday, after starting in February 2023. The £37million scheme brought misery to householders in villages along both official and unofficial diversion routes who were kept awake at night and suffered damage to their property.
Drivers also suffered significant disruption as they faced long diversion routes while the work was carried out. "The noise in the village now - you can still hear the trains coming past - there is hardly anything coming through," said Duncan Perry, chairman of Wetherden Parish Council. Duncan Perry, chairman of Wetherden Parish Council (Image: Duncan Perry) "For the people who bordered the road themselves, having trucks rumbling past your house, shaking the walls, you can hear it.
It doesn't give you a lot of sleep, but certainly broken sleep." Some lorry drivers chose to wind their way through Wetherden as an alternative route to the 50 mile diversion set up by National Highways. It led to villagers lobbying for lorries to stay on the A14 for as long as possible, as well for additional traffic calming measures.
The carriageway reopened fully in both directions on Saturday (Image: National Highways) Mr Perry added: "It is a relief. The volumes [of traffic] have just been horrendous for the last 16 to 17 months, so we are very g.
