A14 road (England)
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| A14 road | |||
| Length (miles) | 127 | ||
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| Length (km) | 204 | ||
| Direction | East / West | ||
| Start | Catthorpe | ||
| Primary destinations1 |
Rugby Kettering Huntingdon Cambridge Newmarket Bury St Edmunds Ipswich |
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| End | Felixstowe | ||
| Roads joined | |||
| Euroroute(s) |
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Notes
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The A14 is a major road in England, running 127 miles (204 km) from the Port of Felixstowe to the junction of the M1 and M6 motorways near Rugby. The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E24 and E30.
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[edit] Route
From the Port of Felixstowe the road heads west, bypassing Ipswich to the south using the Orwell Bridge and on to Stowmarket, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and Cambridge where it meets the M11. From Cambridge there is a very busy section past St Ives, Huntingdon and the junction with the A1. From there through Kettering ending at the M1.
The entire road is a dual carriageway,and there is a six-lane stretch (three lanes each way) on the Newmarket bypass (between Junctions 36 and 38) where this road runs concurrent with the A11, carrying traffic from London to Norwich and a short stretch between the Girton Interchange and Bar Hill is also six-lane.
The road is concurrent with the A12 road from the Seven Hills Interchange to the Copdock Interchange which forms the Ipswich Southern bypass.
There are three at-grade junctions along the road: with the B663 at Bythorn in Cambridgeshire (junction 15); at the Leighton Bromswold turn a few miles to the east (junction 17); and at the Dockspur Roundabout at the edge of Felixstowe (junction 60).
From the A12 west of Ipswich to the M1/M6 junction, the A14 is part of (but not signed as) the E-road E 24. The remainder from Ipswich to Felixstowe is part of E 30.
The road is heavily used by trucks carrying freight from the Port of Felixstowe (Britain's busiest container port) and the Midlands, North West and Ireland and a number of schemes are at the planning stage to increase capacity on the most congested sections. It is particularly busy on the section from the junction with the M11 near Cambridge to the junction with the A1.
The numbering of the A14 is inconsistent with the national road numbering scheme, as it begins in zone 5 and crosses through zone 6 on the way to zone 1 east of Huntingdon to Felixstowe.
[edit] History
East of the Girton Interchange with the M11 at Cambridge, the A14 used to be known as the A45, and much of the long-distance traffic further west had previously used the A45 route.
The section between Cambridge and Kettering used to be the A604 apart from a short section near Kettering that used to be part of the A6. The remainder of the road between Kettering and Rugby was opened on 15 July 1994, when it became the A14.
John MacGregor, Transport Secretary at the time, officially opened the road. This section of the road cut through an area of land which had been the scene of the Battle of Naseby hundreds of years earlier, and campaigners had fought to prevent the road from being built on this site, but lost their campaign on 11 January 1989. [1] [2]
The route was first proposed in the early 1980s, and was completed by the end of the decade at its most eastern point in Suffolk, making use of some existing stretches of dual carriageway on the A45.
The road known as the A14 until the late 1980s is now the A1198 between Royston, Hertfordshire and Godmanchester but, confusingly, retains its A14 designation north of Godmanchester until it meets the A1 road near Alconbury; thus forming a 'spur' off the main A14.
Work to improve the at-grade junction at Rougham (junction 45), east of Bury St Edmunds, to a compact grade-separated junction was completed in 2006, along with the realignment of carriageway over a two-mile (3 km) stretch to the east of Bury St Edmunds.
A congestion reduction scheme was introduced in Spring 2007 on the eastbound carriageway approaching Welford summit, just prior to the junction with the A5199 (Junction 1). The scheme bans vehicles over 7.5 tonnes from the outside lane between 6am and 6pm over the 2-mile (3.2 km) steep climb to Welford summit. A similar scheme covers 2 miles (3.2 km) of the westbound carriageway from Junction 2 including a particularly steep climb to Naseby summit. It intended that these schemes will reduce parallel running by lorries as they attempt to pass each other, which can hold up long queues of cars[3].
Between 2007 and 2008 a new section of two-lane dual carriageway was constructed at the Haughley Bends, one of Suffolk's most notorious accident blackspots[4], to rationalise access using a new grade-separated junction.[5] The road opened in the summer of 2008[5] with some associated local works being completed early in 2009[6].
[edit] Upgrades underway
none
[edit] Proposed upgrades
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This section contains information about a planned or expected future road. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available. |
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[edit] Copdock interchange (J55)
The Copdock interchange, or junction 55, is a grade-separated roundabout junction on the A14 and links the A12 from the South-West with the A14 from the west to the south of Ipswich. It also links the A14 and A12 with West Ipswich, via the A1214.
Traffic is expected to increase significantly at this busy junction as the result of the proposed developments of Felixstowe docks, SnOasis, and the South West Ipswich and South Suffolk Centre (a large education complex close to the junction). Improvements are promised as part of the SnoAsis development. They are also identified as necessary as part of the Felixstowe South reconfiguration of the A14[7]
[edit] Ellington to Fen Ditton
In March 2005 the Highways Agency unveiled its plans to upgrade the A14 between Ellington and Fen Ditton[8]. Details of the preferred route for the Fen Drayton to Fen Ditton section were published in March 2007 which would broadly follow the current route[9] and for the Ellington to Fen Drayton section in October 2007 which will take a new route further south to the Brampton Interchange before tracking the A1 north to Ellington[9]. As well as the construction of a new road between Ellington and Fen Drayton, the new route would involve the demolition of the Huntingdon viaduct and construction of a new junction with Brampton Road for local Huntingdon traffic.
The contract for the scheme was awarded to Costain Skanska Joint Venture on 28 January 2008[9] who will now work on detailed plans and the Highways Agency will then publish a draft order. Depending on the number of objections received, a Public Inquiry (PI) may be needed to examine the objections. The Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will then made a decision with the advice of the inspector in the PI.[9] The scheme is expected to open in stages between 2012 and 2014.
[edit] Widening to six lanes throughout Northamptonshire
The Highways Agency has "long term plans" to widen the road throughout Northamptonshire to "help cut the number of accidents and cope with the likely growth in traffic"[10].
[edit] A14-M1-M6 interchange
The Highways Agency is planning a major upgrade (due for construction 2009–2012[11]) to the overloaded A14-M1-M6 interchange at the A14's western end, by providing a direct link road between the M6 and the A14.[12] At this congested intersection two miles (3 km) of stationary traffic is the norm on the westbound carriageway, as it is for traffic leaving the M6 to join the A14. In March 2005 the contract for the planning, design, management and construction of the scheme through the Statutory Procedures from preparation of draft Orders to completion of construction was awarded to Skanska/Jacobs Babtie. Currently the Highways Agency is working with Skanska to prepare the plans for a Public Inquiry.
[edit] Notable Incidents
[edit] Lolworth Petrol Station
On 17th November 1998 a lorry collided with the petrol station between Bar Hill and Lolworth. The incident happened shortly after 11AM and killed 1 person, with many others injured. The road was closed and there were huge tailbacks.[13]
[edit] Newmarket Gas Van
On the 26 July 2006 the A14 was closed for 24 hours near Newmarket when a van carrying acetylene gas canisters caught fire and the rescue services were advised by British Oxygen that they could remain unstable and needed 24 hours to cool. Bomb disposal officers were called in and the Red Cross set up a centre in Newmarket for those who were stranded[14].
[edit] Diagram
[edit] External links
- GO East CHUMMS page containing links to the report documents
- Public consultation on Huntingdon Bypass (March 2007)
[edit] References
- ^ "A14 on UK Motorway Archive - History". http://www.iht.org/motorway/a14m1felix.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
- ^ "A14 on UK Motorway Archive - Statistics and options.". http://www.iht.org/motorway/a14m1fstat.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
- ^ Highways Agency. "A14 Journey Time Trial". http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/14233.aspx.
- ^ "Haughley Bends transformation under way". 2007-09-28. http://www.eadt.co.uk/search/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&itemid=IPED27%20Sep%202007%2010:57:33:850&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=search. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ a b "Highways Agency". Stowmarket to Haughley New Street improvement works. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/13030.aspx. Retrieved on 18 June 2007.
- ^ "Minister praises A14 safety bid". Evening Star. 2007-09-21. http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=IPED21%20Sep%202007%2007%3A06%3A13%3A530. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ "Felixstowe South Reconfiguration - planning Application and harbour Revision order". Suffolk County Council. http://apps2.suffolk.gov.uk/cgi-bin/committee_xml.cgi?p=doc&id=1_5443&format=html. Retrieved on 2009-01-25.
- ^ "A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton Consultation". BBC Cambridgeshire. 2006-06-06. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cambridgeshire/content/articles/2005/04/05/a14_ellington_feature.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ a b c d Highways Agency. "A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton". http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4215.aspx.
- ^ "Traffic may force widening of A14". BBC News. 2004-11-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/4037663.stm. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ "M1 Jct 19 Timetable". http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/11935.aspx. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
- ^ "M1 J9 Improvements". http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5336.aspx. Retrieved on 27 July 2006.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/216080.stm
- ^ "Burning van causes A14 disruption". BBC News. 2006-07-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5216482.stm. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Highways Agency (2007-03-16). East of England roadworks update: Monday 19 March to Sunday 25 March 2007. Press release. http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/pressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=145130. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
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