Go ahead has been given to spend almost 90 million pounds of our hard earned cash on a 62 mile stretch of the A14.
The stretch of road runs from Felixstowe in the East, and joins up with the M1 in the west and if you’ve ever driven that road, well you will know just how busy it is and that a major chunk of our imports pass through Felixstowe then down the A14 to their final destinations.
The intention is to install new traffic management systems and driver information systems which will ultimately give road users things such as warnings of upcoming congestion and alternative routes so they can avoid it, along with an indication of you’re likely journey time.
It’s also going to allow you to re-route following road accidents, giving drivers a choice of alternative routes.
Seems like magic, well if it is, its certainly not Paul Daniels, but more like Big Brother and whilst the information will be provided to us on electronic signs above the road, its only going to work because of the “automatic incident detection sensors” that are going to be embedded in the road, which are going to provide this real time information.
They say, “Incident monitoring cameras” will also be installed allowing the Highways Agency traffic officers to respond more quickly in the event of an accident, or even a broken down vehicle.
It would be nice to think that this is all to help us get around more easily and with more safety, but I can’t help feeling that if they are investing almost ninety million quid in this project, that they are going to want to get it back. Could the cameras be a clue, or am I just an old cynic.
