What happened
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
RoadA14
SeveritySevere
StatusCleared
DirectionBoth directions
Started16:14, 12 Jul 2026
Cleared22:10, 12 Jul 2026
Incident timeline
First report
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
⏱ Still active — no changes from National Highways. Incident ongoing for 41 minutes. Monitoring continues.
Update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
⏱ Still active — no changes from National Highways. Incident ongoing for 1h 21m. Monitoring continues.
Update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
⏱ Still active — no changes from National Highways. Incident ongoing for 1h 56m. Monitoring continues.
Update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
⏱ Still active — no changes from National Highways. Incident ongoing for 2h 31m. Monitoring continues.
Update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
⏱ Still active — no changes from National Highways. Incident ongoing for 3h 6m. Monitoring continues.
Update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
⏱ Still active — no changes from National Highways. Incident ongoing for 3h 41m. Monitoring continues.
Update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
⏱ Still active — no changes from National Highways. Incident ongoing for 4h 16m. Monitoring continues.
Update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
⏱ Still active — no changes from National Highways. Incident ongoing for 4h 51m. Monitoring continues.
Update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
⏱ Still active — no changes from National Highways. Incident ongoing for 5h 26m. Monitoring continues.
Update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Update
✅ Incident cleared — A14 reopened at 22:10 on 12 Jul 2026. Total disruption: 5h 56m. All lanes open, traffic returning to normal.
Final update
The A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk is closed in both directions between J56 and J57 near Ipswich due to a Suffolk Police led incident. 
Wording from National Highways, recorded as it changed.
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