A report by The Greater Cambridge Partnership has revealed the need for a three-lane M11 to link Cambridge and Oxford. The plan would see an improved junction at the Girton interchange which would allow more east-west travel, whilst expanding the ‘smart motorway’ scheme around Cambridge and further afield.

Connectivity and infrastructure will be a huge feature of the Oxford Cambridge Corridor Economic Growth Conference – which is supported by the National Infrastructure Commission, England’s Economic Heartland and several regional authorities.

The creation of an east-west expressway that links Cambridge with Milton Keynes and Oxford is expected to bring additional traffic and could see development of over a million new homes along the route, and measures are now being looked at to curb their effect on the roads. The report highlighted the need for improvements stating: ”It is clear that the addition of potentially one million homes along the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford growth corridor has the potential to significantly impact the outcome. The work currently underway will test the impact of different housing and employment distribution scenarios along that corridor to establish the case for including upgrades to Girton interchange in the Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS2).”

The report continues: “Smart motorways are a technology driven approach to maximising the efficiency of the existing motorway network. They increase capacity and relieve congestion by using the hard shoulder for traffic, either permanently or during times of congestion, effectively creating a new lane without traditional road widening. In addition, technology allows Highways England to monitor and respond to real-time congestion levels using variable speed limits to smooth traffic flow and reduce congestion caused by stop-start driving. Emergency refuge areas with emergency telephones provide an area of relative safety at regular intervals.”

Cllr Lewis Herbert, Leader of Cambridge City Council and Greater Cambridge Partnership Board Member, said: “Our argument, particularly for the east –west route with the expressway is it will put bigger pressure on the need for a good Cambridge junction. We definitely need a Girton interchange and will be pressing for improvements. We need to put the pressure on government if we are to succeed with this.”

The potential improvements to the road infrastructure follows on from a £2.25m cash boost from The Greater Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority announced last year. The cash is set to allow for commission feasibility studies and business cases into key strategic schemes in including the dualling of the A47, the A47 to M11 extension and the upgrading of the A10.

Join us to hear more about the exciting opportunities the ARC Corridor is set to unveil at the Oxford Cambridge Corridor Economic Growth Conference in June.