Author: Clerk

The new 12-mile bypass to the south of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire – part of the UK’s biggest road upgrade – will open to traffic a full year ahead of schedule.

The new bypass will run between Ellington and Swavesey and is part of a £1.5 billion project to upgrade 21 miles of the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon.

Like any new road, it may take some time to get used to driving on it. Below is some essential information to help you drive safely and enjoy your new journey.

Know your road – what to expect

• The enclosed map shows how you can join and leave the new bypass, and which junctions have been renumbered.

• At junctions, it is not always possible to join or leave the new road in all directions. This is to help discourage long distance traffic from using smaller, unsuitable roads through local communities. More details are on the map.

• All A14 junctions east of and including Girton, as well as the A1 junctions, will maintain their existing junction numbers.

• Drivers travelling eastbound on the new bypass will still have to join a section of 40mph, narrow lanes roadworks from the Swavesey junction. Please look out for the signs as you approach.

• Slow moving vehicles are prohibited from using the new bypass and will be directed to alternative local access roads.

• Variable speed limits displayed on overhead gantries will help to reduce congestion and ensure safety. Please remember that a red roundel around a speed limit means it is mandatory.

• As with any major road, please remember:

–  keep left unless overtaking

–  don’t drive under a Red X

–  stick within the speed limit

–  know what to do if you breakdown.

What happens next?

The upgraded section of the A1 between Alconbury and Buckden opened earlier this year, which means that the western section of the upgraded A14 is now complete.

Work on the rest of the project, between Swavesey and Milton, continues and is on schedule to completed as planned by December 2020. The work we are carrying out at Huntingdon including the removal of the old viaduct over the railway line, will complete after this.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and patience while we build your new A14. Please feel free to share this email with your work colleagues and relevant contacts more widely.

Just a reminder that this only includes works that are due to start between 16^th  – 30^th November and longer term works that are still in progress will have been included on previous reports. Alternatively please refer to http://www.roadworks.org  which will include details on emergency roadworks.

Please note, there will be an extended closure of the A14 Bar Hill J29 eastbound entry slip this weekend. Once the main eastbound carriageway closure is removed, this slip road will remain closed until 12pm on both Saturday & Sunday. Access to the A14 eastbound will remain via the Dry Drayton J30 entry slip.There will also be a slow moving, abnormal load moving along the new local access road (between Oakington & Bar Hill) and around the ‘jug handle’ to the south side of Bar Hill junction between 00:01 & 03:00 on Sunday 17th. Please be aware should you be travelling along this section, as you may experience some delay

A14 bypass opening date revealedNOVEMBER 5, 2019

A 12-mile bypass to the south of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire – part of the UK’s biggest road upgrade – will open to traffic on Monday 9 December.

The new bypass will run between Ellington and Swavesey and is part of a £1.5 billion project to upgrade 21 miles of the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon.

Last month, the Government announced that the bypass would open to traffic in December, a full year ahead of schedule. Now Highways England is setting out how the road layout will change, and what drivers can expect on the new road.

Highways England project director David Bray said:

“Opening the Huntingdon Southern Bypass is a huge achievement in the delivery of this major road upgrade and I’d like to thank road users, residents and stakeholders for their patience and support during construction. Opening the new bypass will start to unlock many of the project’s benefits and, together with the upgraded section of the A1 between Alconbury and Buckden which opened earlier this year, means that the western section of the transformed A14 is essentially complete. Like any new road, it will take some time for drivers to get used to driving on it, especially when the junctions have a new layout, and some have been renumbered. Please drive safely and enjoy the new road.”

From 9 December, when the new bypass opens to traffic, drivers travelling eastbound on the new bypass will still have to join a section of 40mph narrow lanes roadworks from the Swavesey junction, so should look out for the signs when they approach the area.

The new A14 was designed with safety as the number one priority and its design is simple and intuitive. Variable mandatory speed limits will help to manage traffic to reduce congestion and ensure safety. As with any major road, the main things to remember are to keep left unless overtaking, not to drive under a Red X, stick within the speed limit and know what to do if you breakdown. A red roundel around a speed limit mean it is mandatory.

Slow moving vehicles will be prohibited from the new bypass and will be directed to use alternative local access roads. Each junction has specific possible vehicle movements and it is not always possible to join or leave the new road in all directions, to ensure that A14 traffic uses the most appropriate junction for its destination, avoiding smaller roads through local communities.

The junction numbers on the A14 between Ellington and Bar Hill will change when the bypass opens, as there will be fewer junctions than on the old A14. New A14 junction numbers will be as follows:

• • New Ellington, junction 21
• • Brampton interchange, junction 22
• • Godmanchester and A1198, junction 23
• • Swavesey, junction 24
• • Bar Hill, junction 25

All A14 junctions east of and including Girton, as well as the A1 junctions, will maintain their existing junction numbers.

You can view a map of the new bypass here.

Work on the rest of the project, between Swavesey and Milton, continues and is on schedule to completed as planned by December 2020.

On Thursday 7 November, the second of the new bridges will open, meaning the new roundabout at Bar Hill will be fully operational.

From 5am on Monday 11 November, the following changes will be in place:

• The local road between Bar Hill and Oakington will become two-way
  
• A14 westbound entry slip at Dry Drayton (junction 30) closes
  
• A14 westbound exit slip at Bar Hill (junction 29) closes, until January 2020
  
• A14 eastbound entry slip at Oakington (junction 30) closes
  
• A14 eastbound entry slip at Bar Hill (junction 29) will open from new roundabout

Further information from Highways is available below.

November’s Highlights:

Welcome to November’s Highway Events Diary which highlights all known events that will have an impact or take place upon the public highway.

2^nd & 5^th: Multiple firework displays are planned to take place across the County on the first weekend in November, as well as on the 5^th November itself. Road closures will be in place for the events in Cambridge and Sawston, and temporary traffic lights will be in place for Kimbolton and Godmanchester so please bear this in mind when planning your journey.

10^th: Remembrance parades and services will be taking place across the County so please expect road closures to be in place throughout the day.

Towards the end of November, a lot of towns and villages will be holding their Christmas lights switch-on events. These will normally include road closures along with other traffic restrictions. Please review the events diary for exact details of locations and restrictions.

*Please remember details of all highway events can be found on https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/travel-roads-and-parking/roads-and-pathways/highway-events/