A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon opens 8 months early
Published: 05 May 2020
We’re writing to you from the safety of our homes to share some good news about the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon project.
The £1.5 billion improvement scheme, Britain’s biggest roadbuilding project, is opening for traffic today (Tuesday 5 May) - some eight months ahead of schedule.
The upgraded road was originally planned to open by December 2020, but our work to upgrade the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon has largely been completed, and so we’ve removed the last of the 24/7 roadworks and temporary speed limits – restoring the national 70mph speed limit to the new road.
We still have some work to carry out before the main scheme is complete. This includes:
- work on the road verges,
- completing the cycle,
- horse riding and pedestrian paths, and
- finishing the landscaping.
To carry out this work safely, some temporary overnight closures or off-peak daytime lane closures will be needed on the A14 and as well as on the A1307.
Our work to transform the old A14 for local journeys in and around Huntingdon, including taking down the 45-year-old, 16,400 tonne Huntingdon Railway Viaduct, is also progressing as planned and should be completed by 2022. In addition to the viaduct removal, more than half a mile of new link roads are being built into the town.
It’s taken over 14,000 people, working a total of almost 14 million hours to build the new A14. Essential work on the upgrade has continued throughout the Coronavirus outbreak, with new sections of road opened as quickly as possible to ensure vital goods were able to travel through. A number of measures were also put in place to ensure work was completed safely and in line with Public Health England’s advice.
We’re grateful for everyone’s patience while we’ve been carrying out this essential work and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support during this time.
We hope you enjoy using your new section of A14 as soon as lockdown is lifted, but for now, please note that Government advice to only make essential journeys to prevent the spread of Coronavirus remains in place.