For years, the 21-mile stretch of road between Cambridge and Huntingdon has been considered by many as ‘the road from hell’ due to congestion and accidents.
And with the East of England notoriously difficult to get in and out of, haulage companies using the ports of Ipswich, Felixstowe and Harwich have experienced major delays.
However, that is set to change over the next three years as the Highways Agency have prioritised what is currently their biggest road upgrade in Britain.
Road Network Improvements
Already one of the country’s busiest dual carriageways, the stretch linking the A1(M) to the M11 will include a new bypass at Huntingdon, widening of the A1 between Brampton and Alconbury, as well as improvements to five junctions.
Almost 85,000 vehicles use this part of England’s busiest strategic road network each day, with roughly a quarter of them being heavy goods vehicles.
Plans to upgrade the road were first put on hold in 1998, but ten years later they were approved, only to be cancelled in 2010 as the government dropped proposals to add tolling stations.
Highways England Chief Executive Jim O’Sullivan said, “I want the A14 to redefine what a road scheme can achieve and, in addition to a significantly upgraded road, I am determined that our work here will leave behind a positive legacy for people living along the A14.
“It will provide better, safer journeys, setting hundreds of young people off on fulfilling careers in construction, and boosting the capacity of the whole country to deliver world leading infrastructure improvements.”
And at Tudor Freight International the news comes as a welcome boost as the congestion around the three East of England ports has, at times, caused issues.
Director Adam Johnson said: “This is great news as it means that traffic will no longer be an obstacle to our personal commitment of maintaining a cost-effective service to our clients throughout every step of the shipment process.
“While we are more than aware of the difficulties that the A14 can provide, our highly skilled team ensure it has little effect by providing a vigilant service. However, there are times when the congestion is simply beyond our control. In that sense, we welcome the scheme.”
If you need assistance in international freight forwarding and logistics, please contact Tudor by calling +44 (0) 113 250 1155 or emailing sales@tudorfreight.com.
