A1134

The A1134 is the Cambridge ring road, comprising of a variety of pre-existing roads and purpose built sections. At least one section was proposed but never built; a bridge over the Cam at Stourbridge Common linking the A1303 Newmarket Road and A1309 Milton Road.

Route

Starting at the northeast corner, the road heads south along Barnwell Road from a roundabout on the A1303 Newmarket Road. The airport is passed and the road goes under the Cambridge to Ipswich railway line. The road heads roughly southwards through the eastern suburbs of the city via a couple of roundabouts, before reaching another on Queen Edith's Way. Ahead is a spur of the A1307 whilst we turn right to cross the mainline of that road at traffic lights.

Trumpington Road, Cambridge

We now head west along Long Road, going over the Cambridge to London railway line and the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway. We're almost on the edge of town here and fields are visible on both sides from time to time. We reach the outskirts of the formerly separate village of Trumpington and a signalised T-junction, where we turn right (left is the A1309). We then head north into Cambridge city centre along Trumpington Road. After passing the Botanic Garden we meet the A603, which cuts across the centre of this ring road. We bear left at a mini-roundabout as the dominant number in a multiplex with that road, to run along The Fen Causeway, which crosses the River Cam. At a roundabout at the far end the two roads diverge, with the A1134 turning right into Newnham Road, which soon becomes Queen's Road.

We head north, with The Backs on our right and university buildings – and the occasional college – on our left. At a roundabout opposite Westminster College we meet the A1303 and there is a brief multiplex to the left, after which the A1134 turns right at traffic lights. We now appear to head north through the back streets and there is a one-way system before the two carriageways rejoin just in time to be forced left at traffic lights. There is a short D2 section to the next set of lights, where the A1307 continues ahead and we turn right.

The B1049 turns left almost immediately and we bear round to the right along Victoria Road, which soon straightens out. The Mitchams Corner gyratory is then met, where we cannon off the A1303 (which has taken a much less complicated way to get here from Westminster College). We head out of town along Milton Road before meeting the A1303 again unexpectedly at the next roundabout. In fact we turn right here and form the dominant number in a multiplex to the following roundabout, where that road turns back to Mitchams Corner and we continue on southwards along Elizabeth Way. The road duals to cross the River Cam and remains so to the next roundabout, where we meet the A603 again. Now on our final stretch, we head east along Newmarket Road, which is initially dual but narrows after crossing the Cambridge to Ely railway line. We soon reach the roundabout where we started a few paragraphs above.

Before Barnwell Road was built in the 1970's, the route followed Coldhams Lane and thus avoided the majority of Newmarket Road.

History

Elizabeth Way - the new bridge over River Cam and approach roads were opened as A45 on 13 July 1971. Contractor was Mallik and Reed, cost £2 million. It allowed the then A45 traffic to avoid the city centre before the Northern Bypass.