A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

[B1040]

Yes but the 'missing movements' are not even actually missing. One pair are already provided more directly along the A1303.

According to a colleague who travels into Cambridge along Madingley road, there are serious hold-ups because of traffic waiting to turn right onto the M11 that blocks the road way back. The journey in from St Neots is unpredictable and she has to catch an earlier bus that she would otherwise to ensure predictability of punctuality.

[Berk]

That sounds like a good call for a hamburger junction.

[roadtester]

Yes but the 'missing movements' are not even actually missing. One pair are already provided more directly along the A1303.

According to a colleague who travels into Cambridge along Madingley road, there are serious hold-ups because of traffic waiting to turn right onto the M11 that blocks the road way back. The journey in from St Neots is unpredictable and she has to catch an earlier bus that she would otherwise to ensure predictability of punctuality.

Girton is vital for access to three of the most important growth hotspots in the whole UK economy, all major centres of global significance:

1) Cambridge Science Park

2) Cambridge biomedical campus

3) Cambridge University - second only to Oxford in the THE world rankings.

It is the intersection between three major corridors:

1) M11

2) A14

3) A428, the future Oxford Cambridge expressway.

I'm all in favour of not splashing out unnecessarily, but I doubt that there's another country in the world that wouldn't do the job properly for a junction of that importance. If it can be proven that the current half-arsed approach isn't currently throttling growth, fair enough, but at the first sign that it is, the money really should be spent.

[KeithW]

Yes but the 'missing movements' are not even actually missing. One pair are already provided more directly along the A1303.

According to a colleague who travels into Cambridge along Madingley road, there are serious hold-ups because of traffic waiting to turn right onto the M11 that blocks the road way back. The journey in from St Neots is unpredictable and she has to catch an earlier bus that she would otherwise to ensure predictability of punctuality.

My experience of travelling into Cambridge is that the delay is more typically at the previous set of lights controlling access from the M11 onto the Madingley Road into Cambridge. That sliproad is so busy that traffic often backs up along the M11 northbound for several hundred metres and all the way back to the American Cemetery along the A1303. Junction 13 has been inadequate since the M11 was opened as you can only get on to the M11 southbound and off northbound and access is via a simple light controlled T junction. It is had become far worse in recent years with the University West development, the expansion of the High Cross site, the Park and Ride site and now the West Cambridge site. It is common to see vehicles going south from Junction 13 to Junction 12 just to get back on to the M11 northbound which neatly expands the problem to two junctions instead of one.

The entire junction needs redesigning and rebuilding if there is still space to do so after the West Cambridge development is complete. The missing movements should be added and measures to make traffic flow more easily over the M11 and on to the motorway. Given the massive increase of traffic since it was first opened the existing signalled slips that force traffic to back up along the M11 are totally inadequate and it is only a matter of time before there is a massive incident on the M11 as a result of the queuing traffic. With regard to the missing slip roads the exit from the M11 southbound should be structured in a similar manner to that at Trumpington so that the left hand lane of the slip leads straight into the park and ride. Cambridge City council persists in encouraging developments in this area despite the inadequacy of the traffic management. They simply repeat the mantra 'cars bad bicycles good' when questioned.

[jackal]

Yes but the 'missing movements' are not even actually missing. One pair are already provided more directly along the A1303.

According to a colleague who travels into Cambridge along Madingley road, there are serious hold-ups because of traffic waiting to turn right onto the M11 that blocks the road way back. The journey in from St Neots is unpredictable and she has to catch an earlier bus that she would otherwise to ensure predictability of punctuality.

Girton is vital for access to three of the most important growth hotspots in the whole UK economy, all major centres of global significance:

1) Cambridge Science Park

2) Cambridge biomedical campus

3) Cambridge University - second only to Oxford in the THE world rankings.

It is the intersection between three major corridors:

1) M11

2) A14

3) A428, the future Oxford Cambridge expressway.

I'm all in favour of not splashing out unnecessarily, but I doubt that there's another country in the world that wouldn't do the job properly for a junction of that importance. If it can be proven that the current half-arsed approach isn't currently throttling growth, fair enough, but at the first sign that it is, the money really should be spent.

There are thousands of major limited access interchanges overseas, it's a perfectly normal arrangement. If anything I would say we should have more of them - too often we look to a stackabout or two-bridge roundabout. Much better to freeflow the main movements a la Girton or Catthorpe and leave the minor movements to the local network.

You need to start thinking in terms of the journeys people actually make, rather than 'economic site X is important, therefore it justifies nearby transport intervention Y'. Often, as here, Y is unimportant to X. For instance, for journeys to/from the Science Park, west-facing slips at Girton would be utterly useless - no such journeys would use them. You would get a lot more value out of improvements to Milton interchange, because many journeys to the Science Park go through it.

[jackal]

Yes but the 'missing movements' are not even actually missing. One pair are already provided more directly along the A1303.

According to a colleague who travels into Cambridge along Madingley road, there are serious hold-ups because of traffic waiting to turn right onto the M11 that blocks the road way back. The journey in from St Neots is unpredictable and she has to catch an earlier bus that she would otherwise to ensure predictability of punctuality.

My experience of travelling into Cambridge is that the delay is more typically at the previous set of lights controlling access from the M11 onto the Madingley Road into Cambridge. That sliproad is so busy that traffic often backs up along the M11 northbound for several hundred metres and all the way back to the American Cemetery along the A1303. Junction 13 has been inadequate since the M11 was opened as you can only get on to the M11 southbound and off northbound and access is via a simple light controlled T junction. It is had become far worse in recent years with the University West development, the expansion of the High Cross site, the Park and Ride site and now the West Cambridge site. It is common to see vehicles going south from Junction 13 to Junction 12 just to get back on to the M11 northbound which neatly expands the problem to two junctions instead of one.

The entire junction needs redesigning and rebuilding if there is still space to do so after the West Cambridge development is complete. The missing movements should be added and measures to make traffic flow more easily over the M11 and on to the motorway. Given the massive increase of traffic since it was first opened the existing signalled slips that force traffic to back up along the M11 are totally inadequate and it is only a matter of time before there is a massive incident on the M11 as a result of the queuing traffic. With regard to the missing slip roads the exit from the M11 southbound should be structured in a similar manner to that at Trumpington so that the left hand lane of the slip leads straight into the park and ride. Cambridge City council persists in encouraging developments in this area despite the inadequacy of the traffic management. They simply repeat the mantra 'cars bad bicycles good' when questioned.

I have to assume it is like this to throttle traffic. The buslane has its own bypass of the lights which could easily be opened to general traffic. Likewise they could put in left turn filters, widen approaches, etc., and get the junction flowing reasonably well. But I think the council prefer it how it is.

[roadtester]

You would get a lot more value out of improvements to Milton interchange, because many journeys to the Science Park go through it.

Another example of underspending in this economically vital area.

[KeithW]

The entire junction needs redesigning and rebuilding if there is still space to do so after the West Cambridge development is complete. The missing movements should be added and measures to make traffic flow more easily over the M11 and on to the motorway. Given the massive increase of traffic since it was first opened the existing signalled slips that force traffic to back up along the M11 are totally inadequate and it is only a matter of time before there is a massive incident on the M11 as a result of the queuing traffic. With regard to the missing slip roads the exit from the M11 southbound should be structured in a similar manner to that at Trumpington so that the left hand lane of the slip leads straight into the park and ride. Cambridge City council persists in encouraging developments in this area despite the inadequacy of the traffic management. They simply repeat the mantra 'cars bad bicycles good' when questioned.

I have to assume it is like this to throttle traffic. The buslane has its own bypass of the lights which could easily be opened to general traffic. Likewise they could put in left turn filters, widen approaches, etc., and get the junction flowing reasonably well. But I think the council prefer it how it is.

The problem was there before the bus lane went in and removing it would not solve the main problem which is that you insufficient capacity to clear traffic down Madingley Road from the 2 sources coming in to it. The first being from the A428 from St Neots and Cambourne and the second coming off the M11. That traffic has increased considerably due to the substantial development on the West side of Cambridge since the motorway was opened and is now growing ever faster

If you look at OS maps of 1972/3 there was little or nothing west of the Veterinary School
https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/Map/546500 ... /10/101320

By 1982 they had started work on the High Cross site but not much else had changed. At this stage if you came off the M11 northbound the only move allowed was west towards Barton. I used it a few times and had to find space to do a u-turn in Barton to get in to Cambridge.
https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/Map/546500 ... /10/101322

In the mid 90's you could still drive down Madingley Road from the M11 or A428 and hit just 3 traffic lights (at Storeys Way, Grange Road and the Ring Road) and even at the rush hour it was a trip of just a few minutes. Now it can take 10 minutes just to get off the M11.

Look at the latest developments on Open Street Map and you can see how the area is now rapidly being developed with the University West and Eddington development in progress. No infrastructure improvements have been made not even a decent cycle path, no Cambridge Council putting cycling allowed signs on the footpath does not count.
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=16/52.2164/0.085w

[85CF380]

.......... If anything I would say we should have more of them - too often we look to a stackabout or two-bridge roundabout. Much better to freeflow the main movements a la Girton or Catthorpe and leave the minor movements to the local network.

I'm in total agreement with you Mr Jackal.

[darkcape]

I don't know what the situation was like before the works but in the morning rush hour I think a lot of the traffic coming from the A428 to M11 south are coming from the A1 and A1198 to avoid the queues on the A14 southbound - especially with the one lane closed on the M11 at Girton.

[wrinkly]

I spent much of the weekend looking at this scheme. Two points I noticed:

1. The A1198 bridge (where the former A14 goes over the future A14, well south of the two present A14s!) is finished and carrying traffic.

2. The future alignment of the A1 west of Brampton (where the A1 will be shifted westwards and the present A1 will be rebuilt as A14) is coming along well.

[roadtester]

Work is also well advanced on a big bridge structure to the west of the Girton interchange which I think is for the new piece of road that will carry the A14 westbound, avoiding the present need to negotiate the sabristically interesting but hopelessly impractical semi-cloverleaf.

It seems to involve an enormous amount of scaffolding (at least I think that's what it is - or possibly formwork, or whatever the correct term is). It's going to be a fairly vast structure.

[Berk]

I’m still interested to know how long the new A1 formation will take to build, when it can be opened to traffic, and restrictions lifted on it.

I know it’s a sidenote to the main event, but it is causing some disruption with nightly closures, and poorly signed diversions.

[Berk]

I spent much of the weekend looking at this scheme.
2. The future alignment of the A1 west of Brampton (where the A1 will be shifted westwards and the present A1 will be rebuilt as A14) is coming along well.

Apart from c/d lanes and tie-ins, I’m not sure why the A14 needs rebuilding?? It’s remaining D2 there.

[wrinkly]

I’m still interested to know how long the new A1 formation will take to build, when it can be opened to traffic, and restrictions lifted on it.

They have yet to start on the tie-ins. Also they will need to transfer traffic on Grafham Road from the old bridge to the new one.

I’m not sure why the A14 needs rebuilding?? It’s remaining D2 there.

I don't know they'll rebuild it but I was assuming they'd take the opportunity of traffic being off the ex-A1 to give it a good rebuild. It's over 50 years since it was first dualled.

[Arcuarius]

.......... If anything I would say we should have more of them - too often we look to a stackabout or two-bridge roundabout. Much better to freeflow the main movements a la Girton or Catthorpe and leave the minor movements to the local network.

I'm in total agreement with you Mr Jackal.

If I was running the country I'd propose wide scale junction replacements as a priority before widening. It seems to me that most of the network's issues are because interchanges are relatively under capacity, throttling traffic flows as a result.

[Bryn666]

I agree, the most notorious bottlenecks on the motorway network are all junctions that simply do not work.

With some notable exceptions, D3M is wide enough for most motorways providing entry and exit points are properly designed.

[Johnathan404]

This is true but once you improve the junctions, especially in urban areas, you need to find somewhere for the traffic to go.

[Glom]

New flythrough video on YouTube. Lots of "emergency sliproads" it seems.

The main interchange seems to be simple incomplete. Only links A1-A14 southbound and the opposite movement.

[wrinkly]

The main interchange seems to be simple incomplete. Only links A1-A14 southbound and the opposite movement.

If you're coming from the west and want to join the A1 northbound or southbound, you can do so at the existing grade-separated roundabout at Brampton Hut. If you're coming from the Cambridge area and want to join the A1 southbound, you can use the A428. The same in reverse if you're coming from the A1.

I'd say the case for additional free-flow links here is weaker than at Catthorpe.