The MP for Ipswich has said "people deserve progress and change" after meeting with a transport minister to discuss the future of the Northern Bypass.
Jack Abbott raised the ongoing traffic issues on the A14 and wider road network in Suffolk during a meeting with Lilian Greenwood, the Minister for the Future of Roads.
He raised the Northern Bypass as the only long-term solution to substantially relieve the pressure on the local road network but also emphasised the need for short and medium term mitigations such as upgrades to the Copdock Interchange, electrification of the line down to Felixstowe, the Ely and Haughley junction, and the Seven Hills junction.
The meeting followed Mr Abbott's representations earlier this year to the Prime Minister including earlier this month when he said the Northern Bypass is "the only credible alternative" to the Orwell Bridge and Ipswich's economy would suffer without it.
Ms Greenwood agreed to take the issues raised in the meeting back to the Department for Transport for further consideration.
READ MORE: Leader 'shocked' at drivers throwing urine bottles near Copdock Interchange
"While this can cause chaos on our local road network in Ipswich and the surrounding area, the stark reality is that thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds related to the Port of Felixstowe are on the line too.
"So while we need a number of short and medium term mitigations - projects I also raised with the minister - the only long-term solution to substantially and permanently relieve the pressure on our local road network is a Northern Bypass.
"I am pleased the minister has agreed to take these issues back to the Department for consideration. I will continue to make the case locally and in Westminster for the range of critical infrastructure projects we desperately need in Ipswich and Suffolk, including a Northern Bypass.
"After years of these projects being kicked into the long grass, people deserve progress and change."
More stories on the Northern Bypass can be found here.
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