A143 closed between Ixworth and Stanton after road surface melts

The main road linking Bury St Edmunds to the north east of Suffolk and the Norfolk border remains closed after the surface melted.

The A143 is currently shut between Ixworth and Stanton cutting off businesses and people living in the area and is not due to reopen until later next week.

It has now been closed since earlier this week on Tuesday (July 7) much to the dismay of people living and working in between the two busy villages in West Suffolk.

There had been a series of complaints about the condition of the road in the past few months which culminated in it being closed because of the severe hot weather.

There is a route along the narrow country lanes via Bradwell to avoid the road closure but HGVs will have contend with a 62-mile diversion.

Christopher Hudson, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for Transport and Highways, said he was aware of residents being “disappointed” that the repair has been delayed.

And he added: “The repairs planned for next week are intended to address the areas of carriageway that have deteriorated most significantly and allow us to reopen the road safely. We will then return in August to undertake more extensive remedial works, which will address the wider defects that already existed on this section of road.”

Cooler temperatures are forecast for early next week, and the council said it expects to begin resurfacing then.

The current target for reopening the A143 is the morning of Thursday, July 16.

A full repair scheme will be completed later in the summer, once conditions are cooler, as part of a broader plan to tackle heat-related damage.