Start of work on a major £1.5Bn upgrade of the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon has moved a step closer with the award of a third and final construction package by Highways England.

A joint venture (JV) of Balfour Beatty and Carillion is set to deliver £292M of construction work to widen the existing A14 from Swavesey to Milton, subject to the scheme being granted the go-ahead.

On Monday the JV was awarded pre-construction phase work worth £461,359 under Highways England’s Collaborative Delivery Framework. This follows the appointment in June of Costain and Skanska to construct the other two sections of the scheme and Atkins and CH2M to design the whole improvement.

Highways England director for complex infrastructure Chris Taylor said: “Now all three joint venture contractors are on board, they will work collaboratively to finalise the pre-construction planning to deliver the excellence that our customers and stakeholders expect of us.

“This collaborative approach will provide opportunities to drive efficiencies and a common safety culture across the whole project.”

Balfour Beatty Carillion JV project lead Julian Lamb added: “The ability of the joint venture partners to work as part of an integrated delivery model will be crucial in successfully carrying out this work.”

The project’s next critical milestone will be approval of its development consent order, which is expected to be granted in May next year. Highways England will also need to secure full funding for the upgrade from the Treasury before going ahead with construction.

Subject to this main works will start in late 2016, with the new bypass and widened A14 due to open to traffic in 2020.

Mr Taylor added: “We are looking forward to starting works. This upgrade has been talked about for many years and will realise the hopes of those who currently experience frustration while commuting on this route.”

An additional fourth package of work is due to be awarded in 2019 for the demolition of a viaduct over the East Coast Mainline at Huntingdon. This activity will take place after the main upgrade has completed.

Photo courtesy of Highways England