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

  • December 12, 2016
    Improved safety information in M55 signs upgrade
    A US$567,000 (£450,000) Highways England project to provide drivers using the M55 in Lancashire with better warnings about congestion, incidents and bad weather has been completed. Five of the latest electronic variable message signs, which can display pictorial as well as text messages, have been installed along the eastern end of the motorway between junction 1 at Broughton and the interchange with junction 32 of the M6. The new signs will allow Highways England traffic officers at the North West Re
    Read More
  • July 26, 2012
    Personal Rapid Transit, clear benefits for European cities
    David Crawford watches the race to get the world's first PRT system up and running. To paraphrase the old joke about buses bunching, you seem to have to wait several decades for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, and then half a dozen come along together. Currently, in fact, there are well over that number of schemes for driverless electric passenger-carrying 'pod' networks at various stages of planning, design and implementation around the world. Locations range from a straight-off-the-drawing board ne
    Read More
  • April 30, 2015
    The UK’s busiest crossing adopts free flow charging
    Colin Sowman looks at the transition to free-flow charging on the Dartford Crossing, a notorious congestion blackspot on the UK motorway network. The Dartford Crossing, where London’s orbital M25 motorway crosses the lower reaches of the River Thames 32km (20 miles) to the east of Central London, has long been a major source of congestion. Now, to alleviate the congestion caused by some 50 million crossings per year, the Highways Agency has adopted a free-flow charging system - but the Crossing’s location a
    Read More
  • August 12, 2013
    Nationwide drive to promote UK cycling
    UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a US$119 million injection of cash for the country, along with plans to make roads safer for those on two wheels. US$119 million will be divided between Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford and Norwich, while the New Forest, Peak District, South Downs and Dartmoor will each share a slice of US$26 million funding for national parks. With local contributions, the total new funding for cycling is US£229 million between now and 2015.
    Read More

Highlighted Content