Transport

As Cambridgeshire grows, so does the pressure on the County's transport network. Cambridgeshire Horizons is committed to working in partnership with the Local Authorities and the Highways Agency together with other transport providers to ensure the County has the right transport solutions to meet the needs of the growing population.

To ensure the sustainable growth of Cambridgeshire, the county's transport infrastructure must be reviewed, and improved, where necessary. The first solution is to build new communities in the right places, to reduce demand for travel in the first instance.

The main transport projects that Cambridgeshire Horizons is working in conjunction with, or advising, partners on are:

• A14 improvements
• The Busway
• Transport Innovation Fund (TIF)
• CB1 Gateway
• A428
• Rail enhancements - Cambridge Station and Chesterton Station

A14 Improvements

The Highways Agency plans to improve the A14 between Ellington, to the west of Huntingdon, and Fen Ditton, to the northeast of Cambridge, as part of its ongoing programme of improvements to the A14. Work is to widen this stretch of the A14 is due to commence in spring 2012. Read more about the project.

In addition to this work, other stretches of the A14 in Cambridgeshire will be fitted with new technology designed to monitor and improve traffic flow and ease congestion.

The Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government have decided to hold a Public Inquiry in Summer 2010 to consider objections to the draft Orders.

The Busway

One of the best bus services in the country will connect Huntingdon, St Ives and Cambridge when open. The busway will offer a reliable, fast and frequent service and will be a genuine public transport alternative to driving into Cambridge on the unpredictable A14.

The busway route will be 25 kilometres (19 miles) long in total and therefore the longest track of its kind in the world. It will help Cambridgeshire County Council achieve targets people living in the county set for them, such as: tackling climate change and improving quality of life. You can now watch a short film online to find more about how The Busway works here.

Read more about The Busway.

Transport Innovation Fund (TIF)

The Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) was a Department for Transport (DfT) run scheme that allowed local authorities to bid for funds towards schemes that combine both demand management with anti-congestion measures. Cambridgeshire County Council members approved recommendations made by the Cambridgeshire Transport Commission (made up of key public and private sector partners, and led by Sir Brian Briscoe) in its recently published report at a meeting on Tuesday 13th October 2009. Read more about the progress of the local TIF proposals and the overall TIF process.

On 2nd March 2010 the Department for Transport announced that the TIF scheme has been replaced with the new Urban Challenge Fund. Therefore Cambridgeshire's TIF bid was unsuccessful. Partners are now working together to look for new ways to fund improvements to the transport infrastructure to meet the needs of the growing county.

CB1 Improvements

Cambridgeshire Horizons are working in partnership with developers, Network Rail, and the local authorities to bring forward a major transport interchange at Cambridge Station. Cambridgeshire County Council made the successful bid for £3 million from the Communities Infrastructure Fund (CIF) in March 2009 to create the new 'gateway' route to improve public transport and safety for pedestrians and cyclists travelling to and from the station area. The CIF is being managed on behalf of Government by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), and complements the £1.5 million Housing Growth Fund money allocated by Cambridgeshire Horizons.

The new bus and cycle route will link from the junction of Hills Road and Brooklands Avenue into the station area, joining the Busway route in front of the rail station, which is unguided at that section. The County Council are working closely with Cambridge City Council, the Joint Urban Design Team as well as Cambridgeshire Horizons and the developers to deliver the scheme. Once completed, a new 'arm' will be created at the Brooklands Avenue junction which will form a new gateway to the station to help drive growth across the city and wider area.

Rail enhancements

Network Rail is progressing the installation of a new Cambridge Island Platform on the east side of Cambridge Railway Station that will increase capacity for longer trains that are due to be introduced as a part of the Thameslink Programme and other service improvements.