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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Kent County Council and Highways England partner on road management
    June 3, 2015
    Drivers in Kent are set to benefit from better journeys thanks to a new agreement between Kent County Council and Highways England. The new partnership agreement will improve planning and communication between the two organisations and improve journeys for the many thousands of drivers who use Kent’s road network every day. The two organisations will share information about incidents better to improve the information on the county’s message signs. Roadworks will be co-ordinated to ensure that the dive
  • Tags or communication based toll payment systems?
    January 20, 2012
    Midland Expressway Ltd's Tom Fanning discusses deployment of Near Field Communicationbased payment on the M6 Toll facility The M6 Toll's introduction from early next year of Near Field Communication (NFC) is a pragmatic response to the relative scarcity of tolled facilities and the concomitant low levels of tag take-up in the UK, according to the road's operator, Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL). Nevertheless, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC)-based tags operating at 5.8GHz are still a key part of the
  • Kenya plans road toll tenders
    March 25, 2015
    Kenya plans to start tendering in May for toll-road contracts estimated by the government to be worth $2 billion to improve the efficiency of the East African nation’s biggest commercial routes, according to Bloomberg. The contracts will be in addition to the 45 deals worth about US$3.2 billion that the government will start awarding as early as next week, to double the nation’s paved-road network through an annuity program. The government is planning to introduce five toll projects covering about 800 kilom
  • Newcastle rush-hour traffic trials get the go-ahead
    February 15, 2013
    Traffic trials aimed at streamlining the rush-hour commute in the UK’s north-east have been given the green light. The project in Newcastle involves new satellite navigation technology which helps drivers adjust their speed so they can pass through a series of lights on green. The European project is being led by Newcastle University and Newcastle City Council, and aims to reduce city centre congestion and pollution associated with stop-start driving. Phil Blythe, Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems