26 National Highways East
NATIONAL HIGHWAYS EAST
With more than 600 miles of motorways and major A roads in the Eastern region , roads provide main routes taking people and freight from the ports of the East Coast through the region to the M25 , M1 and A1 .
The strategic road network keeps the region connected to the rest of the country .
National Highways are delivering an unprecedented level of investment in our roads to increase capacity and reduce congestion to reduce journey times and to make journeys more reliable and safer .
Projects include the widening of the A12 in Essex , a series of dualling and junction improvements along the A47 , a major junction improvement and new road layout between the A428 / A1 Black Cat roundabout and Caxton Gibbet .
Plans to transform journeys between Milton Keynes , Bedford and Cambridge move a step closer now the examination phase has formally closed on the Caxton Gibbet project .
National Highways ’ plans will see a brand new 10-mile dual carriageway , linking the A1 Black Cat roundabout in Bedfordshire to the A428 Caxton Gibbet roundabout in Cambridgeshire . Both existing roundabouts will be upgraded to modern , free-flowing junctions with a new junction at Cambridge Road , improving access to St Neots town centre and train station .
The new dual carriageway will replace the only remaining section of single carriageway on the strategic road network between Milton Keynes and Cambridge and tackles one of the region ’ s most notorious congestion hotspots .
Over the next three months the Examination Authority ( appointed by the Planning Inspectorate ), who has been scrutinising the scheme during its formal public examination , will carefully consider all the evidence they ’ ve heard including the many questions and representations from the public , local authorities and interested parties .
They will then make a recommendation as to whether the Secretary of State for Transport should grant formal planning permission ( a Development Consent Order ) so construction can begin .
Following receipt of the Examining Authority ’ s Recommendation Report , the Secretary of State has a further three months to decide whether to grant or refuse development consent . We expect this decision to come late summer . The full Examining Authority ’ s report won ’ t be published until the decision is made .
Lee Galloway , National Highways , A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet Improvements Project Director , says : “ Our proposals for the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements will make a real difference to people ’ s lives , helping them to save up to an hour-and-a-half on their journeys every week . The upgrade will also help connect local communities , reduce rat running on local roads , and provide a better economic link between Milton Keynes and Cambridge .
“ People ’ s input has been essential in getting us to this stage , and the team has been working hard to answer all the questions raised in the examination period . We look forward to moving onto the next stage of the project and eagerly await the outcome of the Secretary of State ’ s decision later this year .”
As they wait for the decision , National Highways will continue to talk and listen to local communities and work closely with officers in the local authorities ( Bedford Borough Council , Cambridgeshire County Council , Central Bedfordshire Council ,
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