Skanska UK’s key road improvement scheme, the M1 junction 19 project, was officially opened yesterday.
A £191 million new interchange at junction 19 of the M1 is the latest example of Highways England delivering more than £15 billion of government investment across England.
The major upgrade to improve the flow of traffic at junction 19 (Catthorpe), where the M1, M6 and A14 meet, has revolutionised the journeys made by more than 150,000 vehicles through the area every day.
The complex redesign by Skanska at junction 19 of the M1 means:
- Motorists no longer have to navigate a junction travelling between the M6 and A14
- There are free flow links between the A14 and M1
- The M1 northbound to M6 westbound link and the M6 eastbound to M1 southbound link are open
- A new local link road, re-connecting the villages of Catthorpe and Swinford, is also open to traffic
Highways England Chairman, Colin Matthews said: “The £191 million new interchange has made a huge difference to people’s journeys by improving access to the A14 corridor and removing queueing traffic on the M1, M6 and A14 approaches.
“I know it has been talked about for many years and it’s easy to see benefits of smoother and more reliable journeys on these key routes.
“The improvement means journeys will be shorter and safer, with more vehicles able to pass through, and less congestion.
“This project has been delivered on time and on budget and is a great achievement for our own team and our contractors.”
Mike Putnam, Skanska UK President and CEO said: “This is an important, high-profile junction in the national road network. We are hugely proud to have been involved in delivering this scheme and to have supported Highways England’s commitment to safety and journey time reliability for the travelling public.”
At junction 19 the new east-west link between the villages of Catthorpe and Swinford now runs beneath the M1-M6 link and the M6 and connects the villages with the A5.
Additionally, for the first time in over 20 years, local traffic, pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders are separated from long-distance traffic, particularly HGVs.
Sharing the environmental achievements that Skanska delivered on the project, Glennan Blackmore, Skanska Operations Director said: “Our work has helped provide a safe connection between the villages of Swinford and Catthorpe for the first time in 20 years. In line with Skanska’s purpose to build for a better society, we have created over 100 wildlife habitats, and landscaped and planted 75,000 trees and shrubs over an area equivalent to 35 football pitches.”
Visit the M1 Junction 19 project page to find out more.