A14 road
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| E 30 |
| E 24 |
The A14 is a major road in England, running from the Port of Felixstowe to the junction of the M1 and M6 motorways near Rugby. The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E24 and E30.
From the seaport of Felixstowe, the road heads West, bypassing Ipswich, Stowmarket, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, Cambridge, St Ives, Huntingdon and Kettering. The entire road is a busy dual carriageway, heavily used by lorries running from mainland Europe to Ireland.
East of the Girton Interchange with the M11 at Cambridge, the A14 used to be known as the A45, and much of the long-distance traffic further west had previously used the A45 route. The section between Cambridge and Kettering used to be classified as the A604 and apart from a short section near Kettering that used to be part of the A6, the remainder of the road between Kettering and Rugby was built at the time of the road's reclassification in the mid-1990s. The Highways Agency is planning a major upgrade (for construction 2007-2010) to the overloaded A14-M1-M6 interchange at the A14's western end.<ref>M1 J9 Improvements. Retrieved on 27 July, 2006.</ref>
There are four at-grade junctions along the road: with the B663 at Bythorn in Cambridgeshire (junction 15); at the Leighton Bromswold turn a few kilometres to the east (junction 17); at the Haughley Bends West of Stowmarket in Suffolk (junction 48); and at the Dockspur Roundabout at the edge of Felixstowe (junction 60). There are plans to improve the Haughley Bends, which is the only accident reduction zone, with a speed limit below the national speed limit, and replace this with a grade-separated junction..<ref>stowmarket.angle. Haughley Bends Improvements. Retrieved on 27 July, 2006.</ref>
The road known as the A14 until the mid-90's is now the A1198 between Royston, Hertfordshire and Godmanchester but, confusingly, retains its A14 designation north of Godmanchester until it meets the A1 road near Alconbury; thus forming a 'spur' off the main A14.
There is a six-lane stretch (three lanes each way) on the Newmarket bypass (between Junctions 36 and 38) where this road multiplexes with the A11, carrying traffic from London to Norwich. The A14 also multiplexes with the A12 road from the Copdock Interchange over the Orwell Bridge to the Seven Hills Interchange, which forms the Ipswich Southern bypass. A short stretch north of the Girton Interchange as far as Bar Hill is also six-lane.
The section between Cambridge and Huntingdon (between junctions with the M11 and A1 respectively) is badly congested, with a daily traffic flow of 87,000 vehicles according to 2000 estimates.<ref>Cambridge to Huntingdon Multi-Modal Study. Final Report. Retrieved on 28 July, 2006.</ref> In 2003 this section was the subject of a government study called CHUMMS (Cambridge to HUntingdon Multi-Modal Study), which recommended a partial diversion, and widening of the whole section to three lanes. The high level of congestion and numerous accidents on this section have led to it being nicknamed the 'Road to Hell' by the Cambridge Evening News, which has been campaigning for improvements to this road for several years.
From the M1/M6 junction to A12 west of Ipswich, A14 is part of (but not signed as) the E-road E24. The remainder from Ipswich to Felixstowe is part of E30.
The numbering of the A14 is inconsistent with the national road numbering scheme, as it begins in zone 5 and crosses through zone 6 on the way to zone 1 east of Huntingdon to Felixstowe.
[edit] References
<references />
| A roads in Zone 1 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme | |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | ||
| A10 - A11 - A12 - A13 - A14 - A15 - A16 - A17 - A18 - A19 | ||
| A100 - A101 - A102 - A105 - A109 - A118 - A120 - A124 - A127 - A129 | ||
| A135 - A140 - A149 - A151 - A159 - A160 - A165 - A167 | ||
| A171 - A179 - A180 - A182 - A189 - A194 | ||
| A1000 - A1058 - A1066 - A1068 - A1079 | ||
| A1081 - A1086 - A1101 - A1156 - A1198 | ||
| A1200 - A1202 - A1205 - A1303 - A1309 | ||
| List of A roads in Zone 1 | ||
