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Key dates in the history of the road network's development and National Highways. 43–410 AD The Romans build about 2,000 miles of road between towns and cities, initially for military purposes. Their roads, such as Fosse Way (Devon to Lincoln) and Watling Street (London to Shropshire), remained in use for centuries and the routes are still followed today. 18th century By the 1830s over 20,000 miles of road have been turnpiked and many surfaces improved thanks to the work of engineers like John…

By dualling the remaining sections of single carriageway, we will improve safety, help make journeys more reliable and support the regional and local economy. In this section Re-connect The project re-connects communities and links villages along the route. It improves connections for local people living and working nearby providing better access to services such as healthcare, jobs and education. Dualling the remaining 18 mile single carriageway sections will improve safety, reduce congesti…

In this section Our work isn't just about improving conditions for road users. Wherever we can, we take opportunities to connect people with amenities and each other. A63 Castle Street, Hull The existing at-grade layout of the A63 Castle Street carries 47,000 vehicles a day and is frequently congested. Our improvement will speed traffic by lowering the level of the A63, with split level junctions carrying traffic across it. But traffic isn't our only concern. We need to create easier ways fo…

Published 19 Feb 2025 Roads Research Alliance fellows Chapa and Yue discuss their female inspirations, hopes for the industry, and the importance of recognising the skills that women bring to the roads sector, in celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March. Share this article About Chapa and Yue  Chapa Sirithunge and Yue Xie are research fellows at the University of Cambridge, contributing towards the strategic themes of the Roads Research Alliance.   What has been your involvement…

The A5 in Towcester has longstanding issues with the high levels of traffic passing through its historic town centre, causing environmental, safety and accessibility concerns to residents and businesses. We’ve now been able to develop options to help improve Towcester town centre. Start date TBC End date TBC Cost TBC Latest updates Overview Documents Latest updates 06 June 2023 Preferred Scheme Announcement Following our options consultation last summer, we’ve incorporated the feedback…

Road maintenance work taking place in the East region. Overview Documents Read about the latest road maintenance work in the east in the 'Project information area' below. Project information View a maintenance scheme You can view more details about the maintenance schemes taking place in the East below: A1 Stibbington to Water Newton, Cambridgeshire - 1 September to end November 2025 In late 2024 the culvert supporting the A1 over Billing Brook at Water Newton near Peterborough was damag…

We've completed work to improve the A47 Guyhirn junction near Wisbech. We've increased the size of the roundabout to ease congestion and cope with increasing traffic levels. The Nene Bridge was also widened. Start date February 2021 End date 31 March 2022 Cost £17 million Overview Documents Related road projects Project information Overview We improved the A47 in six places between Peterborough and Great Yarmouth as part of a £300 million-plus investment, including the Guyhirn junction.…

Published 01 Feb 2024 Seven companies have been shortlisted for our exciting carbon reduction competition and will receive between £15,000 and £30,000 to develop their ideas.  Share this article Ideas put forward that will proceed to the next phase include low-carbon fencing materials, recycling old concrete and using a unique climbing robot to carry out structure inspections.  The seven companies who have made it through the first stage are:  Xeroc Ltd, London  - to recycle old concrete i…

Improvements at Westwood roundabout (A61/A616) at Tankersley and technology improvements along the A628 Woodhead Pass Start date March 2020 End date 2023 Cost £18.6 million Latest updates Overview Documents Related road projects Latest updates 22 June 2022 Technology upgrade We are in the process of delivering a technology improvement scheme on the A628 Woodhead Pass. The scheme will provide a series of new Variable Message Signs (VMS) on the approaches to new automated closure gates…

Find out more about our scheme and the benefits it’ll bring In this section The A1, A421, and A428 around Black Cat roundabout (Bedfordshire) and Caxton Gibbet roundabout (Cambridgeshire) are well known for heavy traffic and frequent delays. Our scheme will provide a new 10-mile dual carriageway and upgrades to Black Cat and Caxton Gibbet junctions. This means quicker, safer and more reliable journeys for thousands of road users every day. The new dual carriageway will replace the only stre…