THE amount of Government funding available for the A14 upgrade is expected to be announced later this month.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is believed to have set aside money for two toll schemes – the A14 upgrade and a new bridge, the Mersey Gateway – that will be announced in the Coalition’s spending plans on June 26.

The Government is expected to provide most of the funding for the new A14, which could cost up to £1.5billion, with the rest coming from tolling, possibly £8m a year as previously reported in The Hunts Post, and between £100m and £150m over 25 years from local authorities and local enterprise partnerships in East Anglia.

The Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership has pledged £50m towards the scheme, collected from business rates from the Alconbury Weald Enterprise Zone.

Huntingdonshire District Council has committed £200,000 in its 2016/17 budget and is looking to pay around £5m over 25 years. Cambridgeshire County Council is expected to contribute about £20m.

Cambridge City Council has said it will not financially support the scheme as members believe it would not benefit the city.

A CCC spokesman said that negotiations on funding for the project were ongoing.

John Bridge, CEO of Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce, said: “We need a firm commitment from the Government on funding for the upgrade.

“Regretfully I feel the Chancellor will only make promises of money on June 26. From talking with the Department for Transport, I am led to believe that a commitment of Government funding will not come until after the next General Election which is not good enough for businesses and investors along the corridor.”