Countdown begins to major project at Sutton Bridge crossing

Four-week roadworks are set to start on a bridge connecting West Norfolk to Lincolnshire.

However the chairwoman of a parish council is not concerned the works will have an impact on her nearby village.

Cross Keys Bridge will close to westbound traffic on the A17 from Monday, September 30 following a trial earlier this month.

Around £100,000 is to be spent on resurfacing the bridge, which could force motorists to divert via Wisbech during the works.

The route that crosses the Victorian swing bridge is the only direct link between Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

Frances Fox, chairwoman of Walpole Cross Keys parish council, said it will not make "that much difference" to the village.

She said: "It does not make a great deal of difference. People will still come roaring through the village, going about 70mph in a 30mph zone.

"The bridge needs to be done periodically and it's part of life. You know when you move to the village that the bridge will need periodic work done on it."

However a motorist told the Lynn News a 45-60 minute journey took him around three hours to get home from the Lynn side.

He said: "Having travelled stress free in the morning as they were setting up, I had high hopes the journey home would be as uneventful.

"When I returned in the evening from the Lynn side, I approached 3.5 miles to the bridge and the ever knowledgeable Google Maps proclaimed a 10 minute wait so this early optimism was reinforced.

"However one hour later and having travelled the sum total of just over a mile, it is fair to say the optimism had long gone."

He claimed the traffic light control system had not accounted for traffic entering from the slip roads to the right or left of the Lynn side of the bridge.

"Approaching again from Lincolnshire the following morning I was less than hopeful of a speedy journey, however pleasantly surprised as the wait time was around 10-15 minutes," the motorist continued.

"Not wishing to risk the three-hour journey home I opted to return from King's Lynn via the diversions through Wisbech. This more than doubled the journey time as I clearly wasn't alone with this thought.

"I do not hold out much hope of anything less than an average four hour minimum daily round trip just over 60 miles, and don't even want to think about Fridays!"