Giant 178 tonne load travels from Ipswich docks to Bramford

A 178-tonne abnormal load has successfully made its way across Suffolk following a busy morning of temporary road closures along its route.

The electrical transformer left Ipswich Docks at 8am and reached National Grid’s substation in Bullen Lane, Bramford, at around 12.10pm — well ahead of the expected arrival time of 3pm.

Suffolk Highways provided updates on the load’s journey throughout the morning as there were temporary closures on the Orwell Bridge and the A14.

These updates can be seen below:

Update at 11.30am: Traffic along the B1113 was held by Suffolk Police while Suffolk Highways’ teams manoeuvred the load to its final destination at Bullen Lane.

Update at 11.20am: The load made it to Bramford where it continued along Loraine Way before reaching Bullen Lane.

Update at 10.50am: It travelled along the A1071 and Suffolk Highways teams guided it onto the B1113 in Sproughton. The traffic signals were temporarily removed but were set to be reinstalled once the load passed.

Update at 10.20am: The load crossed the Orwell Bridge and headed for the Copdock roundabout to continue along the A1214 London Road toward the A1071 in Sproughton.

Update at 9.35am: Rolling roadblocks were in place on the A14 eastbound as the load approached the Orwell Bridge.

Update at 9.10am: It moved up Nacton Road and Suffolk Highways urged road users to avoid the area where possible.

Update at 8.40am: The load was traveling along Landseer Road, heading towards Nacton Road before continuing to the A1189 Nacton Interchange.

Suffolk Highways has thanked residents and road users for their patience while the movement was under way.

The full route can be seen below:

► Cliff Road

► Toller Road

► Holywells Road

► Landseer Road

► Nacton Road

► Nacton Interchange

► A14 eastbound

► Seven Hills Interchange

► A14 westbound

► Copdock Interchange

► London Road

► A1071

► B1113

► Bullen Lane, Bramford