The Secretary of State for Transport has announced plans to improve the A14 between Milton and Huntingdon as part of a major drive on infrastructure investment. This is a slightly reduced version of the original A14 widening plan and crucially for Milton it doesn’t include widening the A14 to three lanes on the elevated section past Milton.

The plans will deliver enhancements along the route of the A14 from Milton through to the A1 junctions, and, critically, will include a new alignment of the road to take it to the south of Huntingdon. Two new (untolled) roads are planned to be built in parallel to the current A14 immediately north of Cambridge for local use (one on each side of the current road). Meanwhile, the existing A14 carriageway will be upgraded through the removal of accesses and junctions, and improvements to junctions at the northern and southern ends. Whilst further work on the funding package is needed, it is expected that the scheme will be funded through a mixture of revenues from tolls on the road, central Government funding, and contributions from local authorities and LEPs.

The A14 road improvement package includes:

• Widening of the Cambridge Northern Bypass between Milton and Girton and enhancement of the Girton Interchange;
• Provision of high standard roads for local traffic use running in parallel to an enhanced A14 carriageway between Girton and the area near the current Trinity Foot A14 junction;
• Construction of a bypass to the south of Huntingdon between the area near Trinity Foot and the A1, at both ends tying in with the existing A14.

Also announced is Government support for a package of local public transport improvements which could include:

• Commercial express bus services between Peterborough and Cambridge;
• A new park & ride site at Alconbury;
• Park & ride bus services to Cambridge via the Busway;
• A new “Number 5” local bus service from Bar Hill to Cambridge via Science Park and Cambridge Science Park station.

The Government has also identified a package of desirable rail investment that will include major improvements at Ely, Peterborough and Leicester, to enable more freight to be carried by rail between Felixstowe and Nuneaton. The Secretary of State has allocated £200m to the Strategic Freight Network to fund network enhancements of this kind at the request of the rail freight industry.

Full Cambridgeshire County Council press release online
here.