Skip to main content

UK government’s US$283 million road building boost for Bedfordshire

Two road-building schemes worth US$283 million, which are a key part of the UK government’s long-term economic plan for Bedfordshire, are on course to be delivered on time and on budget by spring 2017. The 2.8 mile, US$229 million A5-M1 Link scheme is being delivered by Highways England, while the US$54 million, 1.8 mile Woodside Link project is being completed by Central Bedfordshire Council. The A5-M1 Link dual carriageway project is intended to improve the east-west connection between the A5 and M1
March 4, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Two road-building schemes worth US$283 million, which are a key part of the UK government’s long-term economic plan for Bedfordshire, are on course to be delivered on time and on budget by spring 2017.

The 2.8 mile, US$229 million A5-M1 Link scheme is being delivered by 8101 Highways England, while the US$54 million, 1.8 mile Woodside Link project is being completed by Central Bedfordshire Council.

The A5-M1 Link dual carriageway project is intended to improve the east-west connection between the A5 and M1, north of Dunstable and help reduce congestion through Dunstable town centre, offering motorists better journey time reliability and safer journeys. It includes the building of a completely new dualled road, three new junctions including a new motorway junction, and six new bridges.

The Woodside Link project will connect the industrial areas of Houghton Regis and Dunstable to a new M1 junction 11a. It is already attracting new businesses to the area. When open the 1.8 mile road will also reduce congestion on local roads and improve air quality.

Delivering the schemes will unlock up to 40 hectares of land for businesses and provide the infrastructure for 7,000 homes to be built to the north of Houghton Regis. They will also provide better access to the M1 and reduce congestion in Dunstable.

UTC

Related Content

  • April 30, 2015
    Cable cars come of age in trans-continental expansion
    David Crawford explores a high-level option of public transport. Sharing its origin with that of ski lifts at winter sports resorts in the European Alps, urban aerial cable transport is attracting growing interest as a low-footprint, low-energy alternative to conventional public transport that can swoop over ground-level traffic congestion.
  • December 19, 2017
    Highways England awards NRTS contract to Telent Technology services
    Highways England (HE) has awarded the second National Roads Telecommunications Service (NRTS) contract, valued £450m ($602m), to Telent Technology Services. The project aims to keep road users as safe and informed as possible on the UK's motorways and will run for seven years from March 2018. In addition, this technology will also continue to support the smart motorway and expressway programmes.
  • January 25, 2022
    Data helps Ohio DoT get grant money
    Ohio Department of Transportation turned to StreetLight Data when it needed to finalise grant money for a key infrastructure link. David Crawford sees how metrics brought in the cash…
  • August 18, 2017
    Average driver spends nearly £1,000 and wastes almost five days stuck in traffic a year
    The average UK motorist is being forced to waste £968 and spend 4.9 days stuck in traffic on major roads each year because of congestion, according to new analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) in its new report, A country in a jam: tackling congestion in our towns and cities. Travel speeds across the country’s local roads continue to decrease, with the average speed on ‘A’ roads now just 25.2 mph, one per cent slower than it was this time last year. Congestion also significantly contributes to