£90m plans to ease A14 congestion

A £90m scheme to ease road congestion on the A14 - which links Felixstowe Port in Suffolk to the East Midlands - has been given government backing.

The funds will be used to try out high-tech ways of easing jams.

The scheme includes the use of electronic sensors in the road surface, relaying traffic information to illuminated signs.

It aims to bring improvements over a total of 62 miles of the A14, from the M1 in the west to Felixstowe.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said: "The A14 is a crucial link between the Port of Felixstowe and industrial centres in the Midlands - making it both a key route both for East Anglia and for the wider economy."

Work will start on site by February 2009. The project will start by 2010 and is part of a wider programme of improvements on the A14.

Ongoing work to upgrade the A14 from two lanes to three lanes in each direction between Ellington and Fen Ditton means that that stretch of the road will not be included in the technology scheme.