A143 Compiegne Way Bury St Edmunds: Further 24,000 gallons of water removed with measures taken to prevent flooding ahead of expected rain

A further 24,000 gallons of water has been removed from a flooded road with measures taken to prevent further flooding ahead of expected rain.

The A143 Compiegne Way has been shut since the start of the year due to heavy flooding and Suffolk Highways has initially hoped to reopen the key route on Monday, January 15.

However, the sheer amount of water, silt and debris that needed to be removed as well as significant damage to the road delayed the reopening.

Works to remove the flood water have continued throughout the week, with 72,000 gallons removed on Wednesday and another seven tanker loads on Thursday.

Yesterday, Highways said 12,000 gallons of water has also been removed from lagoons that form part of the drainage infrastructure for the roundabout of the A143/A134 (at the northern end of Compiegne Way).

This is to ensure that there is increased capacity for surface water ahead of forecast rainfall over the weekend.

A Highways spokesman said: “More water will be removed from these lagoons throughout the weekend to help prevent further flooding here, and in lieu of repairs being undertaken to the vandalised control equipment that run the pumps that take the water to the river Lark.

“Our teams have been clearing silt and debris from the road and will continue this throughout the weekend, allowing us to review the damage to the road surface and order necessary repairs and lining ahead of reopening.

“Saturday, Sunday and Monday we will have both a tanker and jetting machine each day to take away more water and to jet the drainage systems and clear the pump chamber.

He added: “The ambition is that on Monday, the pump chamber will be clear to allow assessment of the pumps and allow a decision to be taken on whether they are serviceable or need to be replaced.

“We also have resources lined up to complete road repairs early next week so that once the pumps are operational and the drainage system clear of silt and debris, the road can be reopened.”

“Our works are dependent on weather so we will review progress made over the weekend so we can update you with further progress on Monday.

“Thank you again for your patience and we apologise for the ongoing inconvenience this closure is causing, these works remain our top priority.”

The road has repeatedly flooded over the autumn and winter.

Suffolk Highways took mitigation measures in April last year, which included removing more than 100 tonnes of silt from the drainage system and installing new pumps, but flooding has persisted.

On Wednesday, Suffolk county councillor Peter Thompson, who represents the Eastgate and Moreton Hall division, said there seemed to be scant regard over the impact of the Compiegne Way closures on the town's economy and residents’ wellbeing.

Cllr Thompson said the road bed needed raising, with some sort of physical run-off created, and there should have been proper investment to fix the issue a long time ago.

"It's a civil engineering problem - a building problem, not a pumps and pipes problem," he said.

"It needs to have a proper solution with proper spending because we're spending good money after bad (on it)."

John Clements, Suffolk assistant director of highways services, said discussions would be had over any long-term plans for the flood-hit road.

Meanwhile, businesses have spoken of the effect the closure has had, with one owner saying customers have been cancelling appointments.

British Sugar is among the businesses affected by the closure and a spokesperson said the firm wanted to support Highways where it could in solving the issue which impacted vehicles entering its Hollow Road site.

It said: “We are extremely keen to see a longer term solution to help address this ongoing issue, and to see Bury town moving freely again.”