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First use of Operation Stack on A14 leads to village chaos
Page 8
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Truck drivers who ignored Operation Stack on the Al 4 caused mayhem
as they sought a way out through rural byvvays. Chris Tindall reports.
A JOINT initiative to remove hundreds of LGVs from the roads when Felixstowe port is closed was hailed a success — but within days the Al4 was plunged into chaos as drivers ignored traffic warnings.
Queues of cars and trucks stretched back for several miles when the port was closed because of high winds.
Inspector Trevor Sharman of the Suffolk Police Roads Policing Unit says Operation Stack was initiated to get waiting trucks off the Al4 and onto the hard shoulder or an outside lane, In this case it failed to prevent traffic jams because a minority of LGV drivers refused to co-operate. Local villages were deluged with trucks attempting to escape the jam — one driver was arrested in the ensuing chaos.
Sharman says:"Operation Stack is there to manage the queuing of goods vehicles on the A14. If drivers don't comply with officers and Highways Agency signs are ignored and they then go on to minor roads and ignore weight restrictions on those roads, you are going to have difficulties," He adds that a meeting will take place next week involving the port, the Highways Agency and Suffolk Police to discuss this issue: "I'm passionate that we should he able to minimise the effect on the local community. The idea is to manage that disruption; clearly things didn't go well. If there are amendments that can be made to ease issues then we will make them. But I'm not making changes for the sake of changes i f they don't benefit the plan."
Karl Rout, who runs the Orwell Crossing Lorry Park on the A14 at Nacton, says the sign advising truck drivers when Operation Stack was in force used to be sited around 300 yards before the turnoff to the lorry park. This allowed drivers to leave the A14 and park up there until the port re-opened. But he adds that the Highways Agency has moved the location of the sign closer to Felixstowe, leaving drivers with nowhere else to park up or turn off.
• The FTA says the LGV overtaking ban to be imposed on the western end of the A14 in Northamptonshire next week is a "total waste of money" which will not achieve any worthwhile benefit for other road users.