Summit to look at widening of A14
Widening the A14 past Kettering will be discussed as part of a major summit this month to tackle congestion on the road.
The 127-mile route which runs from the Catthorpe Interchange to Felixstowe will be the subject of the discussion between Whitehall transport bosses and business leaders.
The meeting has been organised by the county council and Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership in a bid to ensure funding for the road brings growth to the local and national economy.
As part of his autumn pre-budget statement, the Chanellor announced £260m would be spent on road improvements, including work to widen the A14 Kettering bypass from Junctions 7 to 9.
Leader of the county council Cllr Jim Harker said: “The A14 is one of the most vital east-west routes in the UK and not only of national importance but of international significance.
“Estimates suggest that congestion on the A14 costs the Northamptonshire economy scores of millions of pounds each year and regionally this figure would be significantly higher.
“This summit will provide us with a cohesive plan from which to move forward and give clarity when presenting our case nationally and in a European forum to gain the funding to bring about the improvements necessary.”
Manager of Wellingborough-based Gibson’s Haulage Paul Gillett said: “The road needs improvements – it’s a long time coming and to be honest, they should have been carried out a long time ago.”
The meeting will take place on February 28 in Kettering.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Kettering
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 6 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
deeka24
Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 07:59 PMit is an impossible task as the bridges over the A14 do not have extendability, all the bridges would have to be replaced so could you imagine the cost in that alone, never mind all the rest of the work moving the new gantry signs all the cabeling drainage ect ect it will never happen, one of the biggest problems and accident black spots are slip roads not long enough, try getting out of one of the few garageservice stations in rush times, with a speed limit of 70mph and less than 50 yards of slip road, you need a full blown race car to join traffic safely,trucks have no chance at all of getting into the flow of traffic, the road is a desaster now and always will be, if you think kettering has it bad try the A14 between brampton hut spittles and st ives, then you will realise how lucky you are in the kettering area
robbierunciman
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 12:59 PMhope the summit considers the potential benefits of reducing access for people hoping from one part of Kettering to another - significance cause of local congestion at this one spot. This would cause minor inconvenience for local people but help the general good. and be cheaper and less destructive of the countryside
ruby123
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 10:46 PMwhy is this only in the Kettering news? This is county wide and effects us all.
OzzyKT
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 04:25 PMFully agree, LivingInKettering. The new 5500 homes of the East Kettering development are on the backburner for now but they will re-appear sooner or later. The silly thing is that consideration is actually given to closing J10 rather than improving it. Can you imagine the chaos of all the traffic using J10 now plus the occupiers of the new houses all using roads to get to J9 or a new J10A?
LivingInKettering
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 03:00 PMIts definitely needed especially at Catthorpe but its a shame that new works still wont enable you to travel directly 'south' down the M1 from the A14 or directly 'east' from the M1 North. Everyone will still need to make a minimum 3 mile diversion to get from or to the A14 in these circumstances. Im not even sure if the A14 widening will help fully as it should be extended from J7 to J10 - A6 Burton Latimer. With the increasing pressure on J10 due to the current new housing (off the A6 at Burton) and the planned new housing in Barton Seagrave, this junction will get even more congested. The traffic already queues on occasion from the A6 Burton roundabout back onto the A14. Can't help think these are opportunities missed.
Mark Dragilocevic
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 12:40 PMIt should have been a motorway in the first place, but it's good to see the plans are nearing completion finally.
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.