UK’s A14 route to open early

Highways England has announced that the UK’s A14 route is to open early.
By MJ Woof February 11, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
The new A14 route will cut congestion along a vital transport corridor for the UK – image ©courtesy of Highways England

Highways England has announced that the new A14 dual carriageway upgrade in the UK will open in the second quarter of 2020, some six months ahead of schedule. The project has cost £1.5 billion to carry out and is designed to reduce delays for transport between the East of England and the Midlands.

The first 19km bypass section of the new 34km route opened in late 2019, one year ahead of schedule. This important route is vital for the UK’s transport needs and carries around 85,000 vehicles/day, including 21,000 heavy vehicles/day. The A14 connects ports in East England with the West Midlands, a key hub for industry and logistics.

The project has been carried out to reduce congestion and delays through this part of the UK and the new A14 section will improve traffic flow and capacity considerably. The work has been carried out by a joint venture; the A14 Integrated Delivery Team. This comprises Balfour Beatty, Costain and Skanska, and design consultants Atkins and CH2M.

The project has previously won four awards at the 2019 British Construction Industry Awards. The awards were: Digital Transformation Initiative of the Year; Productivity Initiative of the Year; Partnership Initiative of the Year; Initiative of the Year Award.

Construction activity commenced on the project in November 2016, and the work has employed around 13,000 people in all. The new link will operate as an A road trunk route, instead of a motorway as had been originally planned.

As well as the Huntingdon southern bypass, the project includes an upgrade to the A14 between Swavesey and Milton, and a new local access road, the A1307, which runs parallel to it between Cambridge and Godmanchester. In addition, 38km of new facilities for vulnerable road users have also been included in the overall scheme.

The spring opening date will mark the end of permanent roadworks and reduced speed limits on the new A14 and the A1307. However, the project team will still need to carry out landscaping, installing new traffic management technology, and work in the verges. Some temporary overnight closures or off-peak daytime lane closures will be needed.

Road Structures

Related Content

  • Balfour Beatty wins major UK road repair contracts
    February 3, 2016
    Balfour Beatty is now working on a seven year, €323.94 million (£245 million) highways maintenance contract in the UK. This package of works is for Coventry City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council. There is an option to extend the contract for a further three years. Balfour Beatty Living Places will work in partnership with the three Councils. This collaborative arrangement in the local authority highways market will provide a single source service provider acr
    Read More
  • UK’s most congested routes
    June 4, 2019
    Drivers using the M6 motorway in the UK are in the unlucky situation of facing the worst congestion in the country. The latest official data reveals the M6 to suffer more congestion than any other route in the UK, taking over this unfavourable record from the M25 motorway running around London. The M6 is the UK’s longest motorway and runs from Rugby to Gretna in Scotland. The data shows that drivers using the route will face delays to some 210 million journeys when the current three year period of roadwork
    Read More
  • A wheely great bridge for the English city of Hull
    November 6, 2019
    A 60m pre-constructed pedestrian bridge weighing 150 tonnes as been wheeled into position over the A63 in the northern English city of Hull. The covered and vaulted Princess Quays Bridge will be renamed when it opens in the spring enabling pedestrians and cyclists to cross over the busy dual carriageway. The positioning operation meant that first the route was cleared of signage, guardrails and street lights. The bridge was then lowered onto two wheeled transporters – one at each end of the structur
    Read More
  • Switzerland’s new tunnel bore being built
    April 19, 2018
    A major new road tunnel project is being constructed in Switzerland – Mike Woof writes Construction work is now underway in Switzerland for the new Belchen Tunnel bore, a project that has resulted from the country’s long-term infrastructure planning. The building of this latest tunnel is important for Switzerland economically as it will deliver an upgraded link for a major transport infrastructure connection. When it is complete, the tunnel will form part of the vital A2 route between Basel, in the north
    Read More

Highlighted Content