Suffolk County Council approves £4m boost for major A12 improvement scheme
The money will help finish a business plan for upgrades, including a new footbridge at Martlesham
A major scheme to improve congestion along the A12 has been granted a £4 million budget boost.
Suffolk County Council’s cabinet agreed yesterday to put the extra money toward a full business plan for submission to the Government.
The Major Road Network (MRN) scheme along the A12 is needed to help with congestion, provide space for future growth and improve conditions for road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.
Cllr Christopher Hudson, the lead for transport and highways, said it would improve ‘critical sections’ of the key road.
“Building resilience into our highway structure is an absolute primacy – we want people to be able to travel properly and, more importantly, safely,” he said.
“It’s their lives indirectly and directly in our hands, and therefore it could not be more important.”
Cabinet members have also agreed to authorise compulsory purchase
orders – legal powers allowing councils to buy land without the owner’s consent.
Cllr Hudson did not reveal how many landowners could be impacted by the orders, but said they would be used as a ‘last resort’.
According to council papers, construction costs have pushed the project’s price tag to £63.6 million, up from the £57.4 million estimated when it received the authority’s approval in 2021.
The Department for Transport has confirmed it would pick up just over £54 million of the bill, subject to a sound business case, with the council paying another £3.5 million.
A further £6 million would come from third-party contributions.
The scheme is set to include improvements to several junctions, including at Seven Hills, Barrack Square and Anson Road, as well as a new dual carriageway section between Seckford Hall Road and Grundisburgh roundabout.
A new footbridge over the A12 at Martlesham is also proposed to replace the existing structure built in the 1970s, which no longer meets modern standards.
With the extra funding, the council will now complete a business case through the summer, ahead of submission to the Government by September.
Roughly half of the £4 million will be paid from ring-fenced funding, with the rest coming from a Government grant designed for transport enhancement and maintenance.