UK’s A14 widening project ramps up with a recruitment drive

Contractors are gearing up for one of the UK’s largest road projects, the 34km widening of the A14 between the town of Huntingdon and city of Cambridge.

The €1.7 billion government-funded scheme will be delivered over four years by a joint venture between 2296 Skanska, 2319 Costain, 1146 Balfour Beatty and 2435 Carillion.

The new bypass and widened A14 will open to traffic in 2020, although some finishing work such as the removal of the A14 viaduct in Huntingdon will continue beyond that with occasional road closures, according to 8100 Highways England. There will also be improvements in Huntingdon town centre, including the demolition of the A14 viaduct and new local access roads.

Specialist engineering recruiter Matchtech has been named as one of four preferred agencies to source contractors for the scheme. Skillsets required include foremen, supervisors, agents, project managers, planners, quantity surveyors and engineers.