A14 Round the Bend




Anyone who has been living in Suffolk for more than 5 years and owns a car is likely to have both heard of and experienced the Haughley Bends. For years it was one of Suffolk's worse accident blackspots. It was a pity really as it must have once been an attractive piece of road, winding as it did through the trees to the south of Haughley between Stowmarket and Bury.

But even by the late 60s, the traffic on the A45 together with the bends and junctions made this piece of road dangerous and a dual carriageway was built.   But rather than the modern trend to upgrade everything on a piece of road being improved, it was quite common in the 60s and 70s to just build a new carriageway and use the old one without improvement.  It made for an attractive dual carriageway with good refuges for right turning traffic - none of the interchanges of the later A14.  But the eastbound carriageway was relatively narrow with substantial bends.

With the plan to make this into a strategic route in the 70s, the fateful decision was made to incorporate the Haughley dual carriageway into the new highway without improving anything.   At first, that was probably fine but with the huge increase in Felixstowe port traffic and increase in cars to 48,000 a day, the road was turned from an attractive dual carriageway into a death trap as fast moving traffic met right turning traffic and crossing traffic moving at all sorts of angles and not necessarily visible with the bends and woodland.  The eastbound carriageway in particular was quite tricky with HGV traffic and never quite knowing if everything would come to a sudden stop.   Queues would tail back at peak hours as traffic slowed at the bends and junctions.

Why did no-one foresee this?   They probably did, but financial constraints probably meant that it was earmarked for future improvement if needs be.    Even when it became a big problem, it took some time to put in the speed limit and cameras.    Even when the bypass was programmed, the process was slow and people complained about the escalating cost, particularly as it was decided to take the more expensive total bypass route known at the time as the blue route.  Such is the nature of strategic road planning.

That said, the new Haughley Bypass was a good result for A14 traffic and possibly for the long suffering citizens of Haugley as it left them with quiet local roads.

My video was all about looking at what's ahead and being prepared to count the cost.  That's so important in life, not just in strategic road planning!  We all like the best to happen, but also know that bad times come too - and then death.   Jesus wants us to be prepared for it and walk through those situations in life with us, and also to experience eternal life with Him.  Through the centuries people have found that walk with Him to be an amazing experience.  

Jesus wants all of use to walk with Him in life.  To find that He makes our paths straight as it said in the video.   That means by which that can happen is because Jesus gave His own life for us on the cross so that He could deal with all the things that separate us from God.   Now He invites us to walk through life with Him, to know God's forgiveness and acceptance, to find that He really is alive; that He does exist.   Why not ask Him to come into your life today.