Public consultation has begun on improving the A14 between Cambridge and the A1 – and the Highways Agency will be canvassing local opinion until 13 October.

The section of road in question carries 85,000 vehicles a day and links East Anglian ports with the Midlands and Northern England.

The £1.5Bn, 35km project includes a proposal for a new 19km tolled bypass of Huntingdon between the A1 (Ellington) and Fen Drayton, to begin construction in 2016. The remainder of the improvement will see the A14 widened towards Cambridge, but will not be subject to a toll.

Highways Agency divisional director of major projects (south), Chris Taylor said: “We have worked hard to pull together the best elements of the options looked at by the Department for Transport as part of the A14 Study. We believe we have come up with the right solution.”

Freight Transport Association’s head of road network management policy Malcolm Bingham said: “We welcome a commitment to fund the upgrading of this essential strategic piece of infrastructure and realise that without tolling, it will be difficult to raise the necessary funding for new infrastructure. But our members want to ensure that any tolling that is put in place is reasonable.”

As part of the scheme, a new single carriageway access road will be provided for local use alongside the new road from Fen Drayton to Girton. Completion of the improvements is due in either 2019 or 2020.

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