Skip to main content

New UK motorway link under construction

Construction of a new junction on the M1 near Dunstable in Bedfordshire is starting in the UK. The new junction, junction 11A, is located just to the south of Toddington services and forms part of a new €225 million link road between the A5 and the M1 that will help to unlock growth and reduce congestion in the area. Work on the link road began in March.
June 18, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The new link will cut congestion
Construction of a new junction on the M1 near Dunstable in Bedfordshire is starting in the UK. The new junction, junction 11A, is located just to the south of Toddington services and forms part of a new €225 million link road between the A5 and the M1 that will help to unlock growth and reduce congestion in the area. Work on the link road began in March.

8100 Highways England project manager Karen Green said, “This junction is a vital part of this significant road improvement. The new link road will be a major new bypass for Dunstable, reducing congestion and improving safety on the A5, and reducing pressure on the A5 through Dunstable town centre. Work on the project is progressing well.

“To build the junction we will need roadworks on the M1 between junctions 11 and 12, but we are working closely with our contractor and local partners to ensure disruption to road users during this work is kept to a minimum.”

Roads minister Andrew Jones said, “As part of our long-term economic plan we’re committed to the biggest investment in roads in a generation.

“It’s vital we use our transport infrastructure to create jobs and make it easier for people to see their family and friends. The £2 billion (€2.8 billion) we are investing in the East of England will ease congestion and make journeys quicker across the region.”

Once completed in spring 2017, the link road, a new 4.5km dual carriageway, will improve the east-west connection between the A5 and M1. While the new junction is being built, lane 3 on the M1 will be closed between junctions 11 and 12 in both directions. Three lanes will remain open, with traffic running on the hard shoulder and lanes 1 and 2. The roadworks, including safety barriers, signs, CCTV and average speed cameras, will stay in place throughout the junction construction work, which will be carried out in phases and should be finished in spring 2017 as the scheme nears completion.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Mott MacDonald’s motorway to motorway metering
    December 20, 2017
    Mott MacDonald has developed a Motorway to Motorway (M2M) metering pilot scheme. This has been developed for Highways England and is being trialled between junction 21A of the M6 and junction 10 of the M62. The project is intended to smooth traffic flows and reduce the number of queues that occur because of congestion.
  • UK’s Stonehenge Bypass approved by Government
    July 17, 2023
    The UK’s Stonehenge Bypass project has been approved by the Government.
  • New junction designs for Nairobi to cut congestion
    June 30, 2014
    New junctions could cut chronic congestion in Kenyan capital Nairobi – Shem Oirere reports Kenya plans to replace all T-junctions in the country’s capital Nairobi with acceleration and deceleration lanes to address a crippling vehicle traffic regime estimated to consume $580,000 daily. “We will replace the junctions with acceleration and deceleration lanes,” said John Mosonik, the principal secretary in Kenya’s ministry of transport. He said the acceleration lanes, which allow cars joining the main road t
  • UV lining is highway drainage first for UK motorway upgrade
    December 19, 2017
    Drainage specialist Lanes Group is implementing the first project to extensively line highway drainage pipes as part of a Smart Motorway initiative in the UK. Lanes has been commissioned by the Carillion Kier Joint Venture working for Highways England to install ultra-violet – UV - liners during the M6 Junction 16-19 Smart Motorway scheme between Crewe and Knutsford, in county Cheshire. Lanes said that it is the first time that roadside drainage pipes will have been extensively lined, instead of being