Suffolk County Council have written to stakeholders, including Ipswich Borough Councillors to confirm the closure of Maryon Road for drainage improvements and “associated works”.

Sorting out the awful drainage problems at this location is something that fellow Gainsborough Councillor Sheila Handley and I have campaigned long and hard for and it is fantastic that we are finally seeing some action on this from Suffolk County Council.

The works area marked out on their site plan includes the chicane, but its fate is not specifically mentioned. With excavations up to 3 metres deep planned there will never be a better time to take out the chicane. I know everyone is waiting on tenterhooks for confirmation that we will finally see the back of it so I have asked the obvious question and am keeping my eyes peeled for an announcement soon!

I’ve included Suffolk County Council’s full announcement and a plan showing the works area, closure and diversion route below.

Suffolk County Council Announcement – Upcoming works – U2078 Maryon Road

“For your information, we are planning to carry out drainage improvements and associated works along U2078 Maryon Road, Ipswich (Nacton Road to Maybury Road). The associated works consist of the replacement of damaged kerbing, widening of selected concrete driveway accesses and reseeding the grass verges. The works are programmed to take place between 19 August and 6 September 2021. The road will be closed each day between 8.30am and 4pm to ensure that we can carry out our works safely.

For the duration of the road closure, traffic will be diverted via Maybury Road, Boyton Road, Mildmay Road, Nacton Road and vice versa.

As we plan roadworks in advance, we schedule extra days to allow for bad weather or other delays beyond our control. If we need to make major changes to our work dates, we will update the information signs on site.

“A plan showing the diversion route for these works is attached to this email. When we close the road and put a diversion in place, the route needs to be accessible to vehicles of all shapes and sizes. We make our diversions as clear as possible by placing appropriate signing along the route. The latest updates on our works can be found on our website at “Temporary road closures for Suffolk Highways roadworks” and on One.Network website.

There may be times that essential emergency works are required to take place on the highway network without advanced notice – you can follow Suffolk Highways on Twitter for the latest emergency roadwork updates.

Please could you use any contacts within your division or parish to circulate this notification. Please contact us on 0345 606 6171 if you have any questions.”