Overnight work to resurface a 32-metre section of the A14 Huntingdon railway viaduct will begin tonight (July 24).

Although the bridge is due to be demolished as part of the A14 upgrade, the work is necessary to repair huge potholes which have led to emergency closures of the road in recent months.

According to the Highways England, the potholes all occurred on the same section of the bridge.

Martin Fellows, Highways England’s operations director for the East of England, said: “We acknowledge and apologise for the congestion caused and the inconvenience suffered by many. The extent of delays caused by incidents in this area is part of the reason why the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon major upgrade is such a vital improvement.

While the viaduct will eventually be demolished as part of the project, we are doing everything we can to keep journeys safe and reliable in the meantime. The recent defects on the viaduct have been robustly repaired, but it remained at risk of similar failures, especially if there was very heavy rain. We’ve looked in detail at the causes of these sudden and unpredictable failures, and the solution we’ve designed will address the underlying cause. In addition, we will continue to regularly monitor the viaduct to keep the risk of further emergency restrictions to an absolute minimum.”

The work will be carried out overnight on Monday, July 24 and Tuesday, July 25, between 8pm and 6am, subject to weather and other conditions. The A14 will be closed westbound between junctions 24 and 23 while we are working, with drivers diverted to take the A1198 to Caxton Gibbet, then the A428 to Wyboston Lakes, and the A1 northbound to return to Brampton Hut.

Highways England monitors the viaduct every six hours, and this will increase to hourly during periods of forecast heavy rain. There will still be some work ongoing at the viaduct following this resurfacing, including renewing the bridge joints.