Huntingdon A14 improvement scheme dropped

A £2.6million scheme to improve a congested A14 junction at Huntingdon has been scrapped by the Highways Agency.

The proposed works to the Spittals Interchange would have seen the westbound sliproad widened and lengthened to provide two lanes approximately 170m-long.

Yesterday (Tuesday) the HA announced the scheme, which would have been paid for from a £22million pot to make short-term improvements to the A14, had been dropped.

A statement from the HA said: “Given the date for the start of works for the Cambridge to Huntingdon [A14 upgrade] scheme, the focus for short term measures has shifted slightly to the sections of the A14 that will remain in use for strategic traffic.

“These include improvements immediately to the north of Cambridge, around Girton and Histon, rather than near Spittals, which under the plans consulted on in the autumn would carry considerably less traffic once the new southern route round Huntingdon is open.”

However, no new date has been set for the release of the HA’s preferred route. It had been expected before Christmas but was put back to early 2014. The decision to scrap the Spittals work could be a strong indication that the Huntingdon viaduct will be pulled down and a bypass built.