A14 Bypass officially opens

A 12 miles section of the A14 Huntingdon Bypass has now officially been opened one year ahead of schedule as part of the wider scheme to upgrade and redevelop 21 miles of the dual carriageway between Cambridge and Huntingdon.

UK Construction Online reported in October that the A14 opening was scheduled to take place ahead of Highways England’s initial schedule which placed the dual carriageway as opening in the December of 2020 and not 2019.

The redevelopment of the route has now reduced the number of junctions to just five, with these including the New Ellington Junction (21), the Brampton interchange Junction (22), Godmanchester and A1198 Junction (23), Swavesey Junction (24), and the Bar Hill Junction (25).

The previously used A14 route has now been closed off, in both directions, between Godmanchester and the Spittals interchanges so as to allow Highways England to begin the removal of the existing viaduct, which extends over the railway track, and allow them to build new link roads into the town centre of Huntingdon.

The previously used route will remain closed until 2022 while removal works take place and the remaining nine miles section of the dual carriageway, between the towns of Swavesey and Milton are on schedule to be completed by the December of 2020.

The new A14 dual carriageway was designed with safety as the number one priority, featuring mandatory variable speed limits, an increased number of junctions, and junctions, themselves, which avoid small local communities.

The A14 upgrade scheme is considered one of the largest infrastructure upgrade projects in recent times, amounting to a total cost of £1.5Bn, meaning that the opening of a bypass which consists of more than half of the scheme, and opening a year ahead of schedule at that, is evidence of a significant success.

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