The southern section from the junction with the A14 to Scole once formed part of Suffolk's first turnpike trust in which ran from Ipswich to Scole (and also from Claydon to Stowmarket and Haughley).
In 1986 the government's Roads for Prosperity White Paper proposed the dualling of the entire Suffolk stretch of the A140 from its junction with the A14 (then the A45) and Scole.