Existing network and proposed A14 improvements
The main trunk roads serving Cambridge are the M11, A14, A428, and A11. The A10
is an important local route linking settlements such as Ely and Royston to
Cambridge. The A14 is part of the Trans-European transport network and
frequently operates at or above capacity. The road is without hard shoulders and
any incident usually results in major delays. The
Cambridge to Huntingdon multi-modal study, (CHUMMS) has made recommendations
on a combination of highway improvement and public transport schemes to
alleviate transport problems in the A14 corridor.
Within Cambridge city the roads are generally narrow and there are conflicting
demands for road space from private vehicles, buses, cyclists and pedestrians.
Cambridge has an inner ring road but this suffers from traffic congestion,
particularly at the river crossings. There is major traffic congestion on most
of the main routes into Cambridge during peak periods, especially leaving
Cambridge in the evening.
The highway options have not yet been fully worked out, but are
likely to include an orbital route.
Orbital route
Providing an orbital route could possibly take a
significant amount of traffic out of Cambridge. An orbital route could have the
following advantages:
Many people need to make journeys across Cambridge because some of the main
employment sites, such as Addenbrookes Hospital, Science Park, etc., are spread
around the outskirts. These dispersed sites are difficult to serve effectively
from all areas of the sub-region by public transport. An orbital highway would
reduce the need for traffic to travel through the city.
The orbital highway would also allow drivers to travel around Cambridge to the
park and ride site that best serves their particular destination within Cambridge.
It is proposed to test a design that incorporates link roads running parallel to
the main orbital highway. The junction strategy would keep local traffic on the
links with only the longer-distance traffic being able to use the main
carriageways. This would prevent local commuter traffic causing traffic
congestion on the main through routes of the M11 and A14.
In addition to a transport assessment, there are a number of significant
environmental issues that need to be considered for this option.
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