Highways Agency

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About Area 8

Area 8 is one of 14 Highways Agency areas in England, comprising of trunk roads and motorways. The roads that this team manages are: A1, A1(M), A5, A14,  A43, A45, A421, A428, M1, M11 and M45 in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes.

• M1 from Junction 8, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire to Junction 19, Catthorpe, Leicestershire including Junction 10 to 10a, Luton
• M11 from Junction 7 Harlow, Essex to Junction 14 Girton Interchange, Cambridge
• A1(M) from Junction 6, Welwyn, Hertfordshire to Junction 10, Radwell, Bedfordshire
• A1 from A1(M) Junction 10 to A1(M) Junction 14 Alconbury, Huntingdon
• A14 from M1 Junction 19 to M11 J14 at Girton Interchange, Cambridge, including a 2 mile spur between Alconbury and Huntingdon
• A43 from M40 Junction 10, Ardley, Oxfordshire to M1 Junction 15A, Rothersthorpe, Northants
• A45 from M1 Junction 15, Collingtree, Northants to A14 Junction 13, Thrapston, Northants
• A421 from the M1 Junction 13, Bedfordshire to the A1 Black Cat Roundabout, Roxton, Beds
• A428 from the A1 Wyboston Interchange, Bedfordshire to the A14/M11 J14 at Girton Interchange
• A5 from M1 Junction 9, Flamstead, Hertfordshire to B5414 Junction west of Catthorpe, Warwickshire including A5 link road and roundabout from M1 Junction 18 to A5 at Rugby Radio Station
• M45 from M1 Junction 17, Northamptonshire to terminal roundabout at the A45 immediately west of Dunchurch, Warwickshire

View the map of Area 8.

The area is managed by a dedicated Highways Agency team. On 1 September 2008, Carillion-WSP will become our sole service provider under a new Managing Agent Contract (MAC).

This is not the only change that is about to happen in Area 8. As from 1 September 2008 to reflect the new Managing Agent Contract we will gain the A11 from the M11 Junction 9A to A14 east of Cambridge and the A14 from Girton Interchange to the A142, Junction 37, Newmarket, Suffolk. We will lose the M11 Junction 7 to 9 and the A120 in Essex. This brings the area into line with the Cambridgeshire and Essex County boundaries.

Further changes to the Area 8 network will take place later this year on completion of the M1 Junction 6A to 10 Widening and in July 2009 when roads in Northamptonshire transfer to Area 7. This web page will be updated to reflect those changes nearer the time.

The team also manages the A1(M) Junction 17 to Junction 17, Cambridgeshire and the M40 from Junction 1 to 15 in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire under private finance Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contracts. The A1(M) is managed by Road Management Services (Peterborough) and the M40 is managed by UK Highways.

View the Map for the M40 Junction 1 to 15.

Iain Semple, Area Performance Manager for Area 8, said:

"Area 8 covers 528 kilometres. The M1 and M11 are routes of national importance and together with the A1/A1(M) form the main routes to London from the north. The A14 is also a route of national importance and is a key route to the east coast ports. Stansted and Luton airports are key transport hubs served by the area network.

We liaise with 9 local authorities and 8 police forces in our management of the network. This includes delivery of maintenance and improvement schemes and traffic management for events close to the network, including the British Grand Prix and other events at Silverstone. We work with developers to deliver necessary improvements to the network to mitigate the impact of development pressures. At present these are concentrated on the A5 at Milton Keynes and Dunstable.

We also work closely with HA colleagues in the development of major schemes to add significant capacity to the network. The M1 J6A to 10 Widening is currently under construction and the A421 Bedford to M1 J13 is planned to start construction in early 2009. Improvements are also planned for the M1 J10 to 13 in Bedfordshire and the A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton in Cambridgeshire."

We have received the results of the February 2008 - July 2008 Area Road User Satisfaction survey (ARUSS) carried out by Faber Maunsell on behalf of the highways Agency, where approximately 66 people were interviewed every month between February and July.  The latest results can be downloaded from the Area 8 Publications page.