A12 Roadworks Suffolk: Darsham Shut Nights From 5 October

The A12 at Darsham shuts 8pm to 5am weeknights from 5 October. This weekend's Leiston closure is off, and Main Road, Martlesham goes one-way for 20 weeks.

The A12 night closure at Marlesford ended at 5am today, Saturday 3 October. Darsham is next. The A12 there shuts on weeknights, 8pm to 5am, from Monday 5 October, and two closure orders now cover every night to 5am on Friday 30 October.

At Leiston, the weekend closure of Abbey Road and Lovers Lane booked for this weekend, 2 to 5 October, has been postponed, Sizewell C says. The bulletin now lists five weekends from 9 October to 9 November instead. Eastbridge Road is a bigger change: an order published on 25 September shuts it at all hours from 16 October to 9 November, not only at weekends.

Closer to Woodbridge, Main Road, Martlesham goes one-way for about 20 weeks from Monday 19 October. Traffic heading towards the A12 will be diverted. Full details are below.

Everything here was checked on 3 October 2026 against the Sizewell C works tracker bulletin published on 2 October, and against Suffolk County Council and Sizewell C closure orders published between 18 September and 1 October.

The A12 roadworks and nightly closures that started on 7 September

Monday 7 September was the day several separate closures began on and beside the A12 between Woodbridge and Darsham. They were not one scheme, which is where most of the confusion about this stretch came from. All of them have now finished:

Closures that began on Monday 7 September 2026, and where each stands on 3 October
Closure	Hours	Ran to	Status on 3 October
A12 Main Road, Darsham, Westleton Road junction to The Street	Disputed: Sizewell C's bulletin said 8pm to 5am on weeknights, the county council's order said 8am to 5pm	18 September	Finished. Closes again at night from 5 October (see below)
Eastbridge Road, Theberton	8pm to 5am	11 September	Finished. Part of it closes again from 9 October
Alde Lane and Park Road, Aldeburgh	Full closure, all day	27 September	Finished. Closes again 12 to 23 October for the same gas connection

The two Marlesford lanes that closed alongside are almost done too. Bell Lane reopened after 1 October. Marlesford Road (also called Ashe Road) stays shut all day until 5 October.

Shut right now

Marlesford Road, Marlesford: fully closed until 5 October, for about 130 metres from the A12 junction. Diversion via Marlesford Road, the B1116 and the A12.
B1122, Yoxford roundabout to about 50 metres past Title Road: closed Monday to Thursday nights, 7pm to 5am, until 6 November. The southern end of Title Road is also shut. Access to properties inside the closure is maintained.
B1078, Wickham Market: one lane closed with traffic lights, 8pm to 6am, until 6am on 3 November.

Already over

These were on this page last week. Their published end dates have passed, and we have seen no notice extending any of them.

A12, Marlesford: the weeknight closure ended at 5am on Saturday 3 October. Traffic lights return at night from 5 October (see below).
Bell Lane, Marlesford: night closure due to end on 1 October.
B1122 Abbey Road and Lovers Lane, Leiston: the first weekend closure, 25 to 28 September. The second, due 2 to 5 October, was postponed.
A12 lane closure at Darsham, 9am to 3pm: listed to 2 October, and no longer on the bulletin.
Lee Road, Aldeburgh: sewer repair closure due to end on 2 October.
The Street, Letheringham: water supply closure due to end on 2 October.
Croft Lane, Stratton Hall: eastbound closure due to end on 2 October.
Gulpher Road, Felixstowe: bridge inspection closure, 29 to 30 September.
Byng Hall Road, Pettistree and Church Lane, Levington: one-day closures on 1 October.
Alde Lane and Park Road, Aldeburgh: due to end on 27 September. It returns 12 to 23 October, with Alde Lane shut from the A1094 to Granvilles Garden (diversion via The Terrace, Chippings Hill and the A1094). Contractor Core Highways, 03300 433030.
High Road East and Cliff Road, Felixstowe: daytime closure due to end on 25 September. It returns overnight, 7pm to 5am, from 12 to 23 October.

Darsham: two orders now cover every night to 30 October

The A12 Main Road at Darsham closes from the Westleton Road junction to The Street, weeknights only, 8pm to 5am. Two separate orders cover it:

A12 night closures at Darsham, October 2026
Nights	Order	Published
8pm Mon 5 Oct to 5am Fri 16 Oct	Suffolk County Council, contractor Galdris	24 September
8pm Mon 19 Oct to 5am Fri 30 Oct	Sizewell C, Article 19 of the Sizewell C Order 2022	28 September

The work is for the Darsham crossing: road widening, footpath improvements, a pedestrian crossing island, street lights, resurfacing and road markings.

The orders give the diversion as the A12, A1145, A146, A143, A140, A14 and back to the A12. The bulletin of 2 October gives a shorter list, the A12, A14, A140, A143 and A12. Either way, it is a long way round.

Two things have changed since last week:

The November weekend has gone. The 25 September bulletin listed a weekend closure from 5 to 9 November. The 2 October bulletin says only that a weekend closure “will also be required”, with dates still being agreed with the county council.
The end dates differ slightly. The bulletin lists nights to 28 October. The Sizewell C order runs to 5am on Friday 30 October. Treat the order as the outer limit.

Leiston: this weekend is off, and Eastbridge Road shuts for three weeks

The bulletin of 2 October says the closure of Abbey Road and Lovers Lane planned for this weekend, 2 to 5 October, has been postponed. It now lists five weekends, each from 8pm on the Friday to 5am on the Monday, and says the dates are “subject to change”:

9 to 12 October
16 to 19 October
23 to 26 October
30 October to 2 November
6 to 9 November

The roads are the B1122 Abbey Road between Potters Street and Lovers Lane, and Eastbridge Road for about 300 metres from the B1122, according to the bulletin. The diversion for Abbey Road is the A12, A1094 and B1069. For Eastbridge Road it is Eastbridge Road, Church Road and Bakers Hill or Onner’s Lane.

The orders say something different about Eastbridge Road. Sizewell C published an order on 25 September closing it at all hours, from 8pm on Friday 16 October to 5am on Monday 9 November, for about 400 metres from the B1122, to finish the Plaza Roundabout. That is more than three weeks of continuous closure, not a run of weekends. An earlier order of 18 September covers Abbey Road, Lovers Lane and Eastbridge Road on the weekends of 9 and 16 October.

We have not found an order yet for the Abbey Road and Lovers Lane weekends from 23 October onwards. Treat the orders as the legal position and the bulletin as what gets signed on the road, and check the signs on the day.

Main Road, Martlesham: one-way for 20 weeks from 19 October

Suffolk County Council starts a highway scheme on Main Road, Martlesham, between the A12 and Nunn Close, on Monday 19 October. It runs to Friday 26 February 2027.

One-way, 24 hours a day: Main Road is closed in the direction from Felixstowe Road towards the A12. Traffic can still travel from the A12 towards Felixstowe Road.
Diversion towards the A12: Main Road, The Street, Top Street, the B1438 and the A12 southbound.
Two full overnight closures for resurfacing, dates not yet set.
Felixstowe Road, Martlesham: closed 15 to 26 February 2027, for 100 metres south of Main Road. Diversion via Anson Road, the A12 northbound and Main Road.

The council’s closure order, published on 1 October, allows the closure from 12 October. The council’s works page gives 19 October. Full story: Main Road, Martlesham one-way for 20 weeks.

New closures on the list

From the bulletin of 2 October:

A12, Marlesford: traffic lights, 8pm to 5am, from 8pm on 5 October to 5am on 10 October.
A1094 and B1069: closed on weeknights, 8pm to 6am, 9 November to 18 December, by Scottish Power Renewables, for a scheme coordinated with Sizewell C.
B1125: closed 9 November 2026 to 1 March 2027 by Essex and Suffolk Water for a renewal scheme. That is nearly four months on one of the few through routes between the A12 and the coast at Westleton and Dunwich.

From the Sizewell C footpath notice of 29 September:

Footpath Leiston cum Sizewell 5: closed 5 to 16 October while fencing goes in at the level crossing, with a signed diversion on Leiston’s roads. The crossing reopens to the public on the weekend of 10 and 11 October.
Footpath Saxmundham 1: closed for its whole length, 24 October to 2 November, for track works.
Footpath Farnham 4: closed from 30 September 2026 to 19 November 2027 for the two-village bypass at Friday Street. Diversions via footpath Farnham 3 or Benhall 29.

Still to come, from earlier bulletins and orders:

A12 Hacheston slips, Wickham Market: the southbound on and off slips close for one night, 8pm on 26 October to 5am on 27 October, for vegetation work. The northbound on slip from the B1078 closes for three nights, 27 to 30 October, 8pm to 5am, for resurfacing. The off slip diversion is a U-turn at the Melton roundabout.
Saxmundham level crossings, 26 to 30 October: Albion Street and Station Approach close, then Mill Road and Chantry Road, including the footways, for rail upgrade work. One of the two crossings stays open throughout.
Kettle’s Lane, Farnham: closed 8.30am to 4pm on 20 October for vegetation clearance, via the A12 and A1094.
Tinker Brook, Stratford St Andrew: closed 8.30am to 4pm on 21 October, for about 160 metres from the A12, via Church Road and the A12. Sizewell C published the order on 30 September.
Buckleswood Lane at the Saxmundham Road level crossing, Theberton: closed at all hours from Sunday 11 October to Saturday 24 October, for noise mitigation work. Diversion via the B1119, B1122, Westward Ho, Buckleswood Road and Buckleswood Lane.
Onners Lane, Potters Street, Bakers Hill and Flash Corner, Theberton: closed at their crossroads, nightly 7pm to 5am, from 7pm on Monday 12 October to 5am on Wednesday 14 October, for white lining and signs. Diversion via the B1122, Church Road and Chapel Road. This one is not on the works tracker.
B1353 Thorpe Road, Aldringham cum Thorpe: closed 5 to 30 October, from the Aldringham Tea Room to the Church Lane junction, for duct laying. That is the Thorpeness road. Diversion via the B1353, The Whinlands, The Haven, Remembrance Road, Aldeburgh Road, Thorpe Road, Market Cross Place, the A1094 and the B1122.
Bridge Street, Framlingham: closed 5 to 9 October for 30 metres from 15 metres west of Pizza and Grill, for sewer chamber work. The one-way on Castle Street is suspended while it is shut.
Faulkeners Way, Trimley St Mary: closed 8am to 5pm, 5 to 16 October, via High Road.
The Green and The Street, Grundisburgh: closed 9.30am to 3.30pm on Sunday 4 October for cabling.
Chapel Lane, Wickham Market: closed 8am to 6pm on Sunday 4 October, from High Street to Mill Lane, for pole replacements.
Mill Lane, Chillesford: closed 8am to 6pm on 6 October for 500 metres from the B1084, for vegetation clearing.
Easton Road, Framlingham: closed 7 to 8 October, for 200 metres starting 715 metres west of the B1116 junction, to cut trees back from high voltage cables. Diversion via the B1116 and B1078.
Footway from Eagle Way to Parkers Place, Martlesham: closed 7 to 9 October, for 15 metres, to replace an electrical link box.
Footpaths 9 and 10, Brightwell: closed 8 October to 7 April 2027 during construction of a new development. There is no diversion route.

Closed for months, or for good

George Road, Leiston: closed until September 2028. Diversion via Harrow Lane, Abbey Lane and the B1122.
Hawthorn Road, Leiston: closed until 30 April 2027. Same diversion.
Pretty Road, Leiston: closed until Q3 2027 while an overbridge is built. Same diversion.
Fordley Road, Middleton-cum-Fordley: closed until Q3 2027. Diversion via Fordley Road, Town Farm Lane, the A12 and B1122.
Littlemoor Road, Middleton: closed since 19 November 2025, and not expected to reopen.
Hill Farm Road, Farnham: fully closed since 12 January 2026, diverting via the A12, A1094 and Botany Farm Lane.
Footpath 12, Ufford: closed at the bridge since 22 April 2026, and extended by the Minister to 30 September 2027. The bridge is damaged and there is no diversion route.
Eleven footpaths and bridleways at Dunwich and Westleton: closed until 19 February 2027 after the wildfire, with no alternative route. Details: Dunwich Heath paths shut until February.

Thirty miles of A12, and where each town stands

Graphic by Suffolk Coast News. Every date shown is taken from the works tracker bulletin of 2 October, a published closure order or Suffolk County Council.

Almost every closure north of Wickham Market traces back to Sizewell C. The project is building a power station at Leiston, a link road to reach it, a bypass round two A12 villages, two park and ride sites and a rail route, spread along thirty miles of the A12 and the lanes either side. The exceptions are the county’s Martlesham scheme and the gas, water and cabling jobs at Aldeburgh, Framlingham and Felixstowe.

The rail line closes for half term

The East Suffolk line closes for nine days, 24 October to 1 November, while the Saxmundham junction is renewed. Buses replace trains between Halesworth and Ipswich for the whole of half term: nine days of buses on the East Suffolk line.

Overnight trains through Woodbridge and Melton

Sizewell C construction trains run to the site along the East Suffolk line in the middle of the night. The bulletin of 2 October carries this pattern:

Train 1 passes Ipswich at about 22:19 (22:37 on one night) and reaches the site at about 00:45. It runs five nights a week.
Train 2 passes Ipswich at 22:56 and reaches the site at about 01:41. It runs four nights; the table marks the fifth “not running”.
Empty trains head back out at about 02:10 and 03:34, passing Ipswich at about 04:32 and 05:45.

Train 2 now passes Ipswich 20 minutes earlier than in the bulletin of 25 September. The bulletin does not say which week the table covers, so read it as the current pattern. Background: Sizewell C night trains through Woodbridge.

30mph on the A12 and the lanes

These are not temporary night limits. They stay while the bypass, the link road and the park and ride sites are built. The bulletin of 2 October lists:

A12 between Kelsale and Yoxford, for the link road and its roundabout.
A12 at Darsham, for the northern park and ride roundabout.
B1122, Lover’s Lane and Sizewell Gap, and a further 30mph on Sizewell Gap up to the Sizewell haul road.
Buckleswood Road and Westward Ho, Leiston, for the Green Rail Route.
Eastbridge Road, for the link road.
B1125, at 30mph and 50mph, with speed cameras.

Traffic signals remain in place on Lover’s Lane, B1122 Abbey Road and Buckleswood Road.

What could not be confirmed today

Orders for the Leiston weekends from 23 October. The bulletin lists them. We have found orders only for the weekends of 9 and 16 October and for the Eastbridge Road closure.
Why the 2 to 5 October Leiston weekend was postponed. The bulletin gives no reason and no replacement date beyond its new list.
The dates of the Darsham weekend closure and of the two overnight full closures on Main Road, Martlesham. Neither has been published.
A statutory order for the Marlesford A12 closure that has just ended. We never found one on the Public Notice Portal; the bulletin was the only source.
The replacement bus timetable for the October rail closure. Greater Anglia’s service alterations page still showed only September when we last checked.

What it means for you

If you drive the A12 north of Woodbridge in the evening, Marlesford is clear from tonight, apart from night-time traffic lights from 5 to 10 October. Darsham shuts from 8pm on Monday 5 October, every weeknight to 30 October, except the weekend in between. The diversion is long.

If you live in or near Leiston, this weekend is open. Plan instead around the weekends from 9 October, and around Eastbridge Road being shut day and night from 16 October to 9 November.

If you use Main Road, Martlesham to reach the A12 or Ipswich, you will be sent round via the B1438 from 19 October until late February.

Three practical points:

Check the day before, not the week before. This weekend’s Leiston closure was called off on the Friday.
A bulletin is not a legal order, and an order is not a guarantee. The two disagree about Eastbridge Road, and about when the Darsham nights end.
Nights and weekends are the busy time on this stretch. Darsham, Yoxford, Marlesford and the Leiston closures all sit between 7pm and 5am.

Checking before you set off

Suffolk County Council publishes live works on the Causeway one.network map: current and planned roadworks in Suffolk. Its own schemes, including Main Road, Martlesham, are on the ongoing improvement schemes page.
Sizewell C publishes a weekly bulletin at the Sizewell C works tracker. The current edition is the bulletin published on 2 October. The tracker deletes each bulletin when the next one lands.
The closure orders are public notices. Darsham is in the county bundle of 24 September and the Sizewell C order of 28 September. Leiston is in the orders of 18 September and 25 September (Eastbridge Road). Buckleswood Lane is here, the Theberton crossroads here, Tinker Brook here and the Sizewell C footpaths here. Main Road, Martlesham is in the county bundle of 1 October; Brightwell’s footpaths in that of 28 September. The bundles of 24 September, 25 September and 26 September carry Aldringham, Framlingham, Trimley St Mary, Grundisburgh, Wickham Market, Chillesford and Martlesham.

More local information: house prices, trains to London, planning and the Local Plan and things to do in Woodbridge.