The UK’s Highways England has appointed the Costain-Skanska joint venture to construct two of the three sections on the £1.5bn A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement project.

The joint venture will connect the A1 junction at Alconbury to the East Coast Mainline under package one, east of the East Coast Mainline to Swavesey under package two.

Awarded under the Highways England’s collaborative delivery framework (CDF), the contracts are for the two sections are estimated to be worth £600m.

"The A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme is the first major award under the CDF and is to enable delivery of an up to £1.5bn investment of national importance."

The entire project has been broken down into development (detailed design and pre-construction) and delivery phases, with construction split into four packages of work.

Highways England complex infrastructure director Chris Taylor said: "The A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme is the first major award under the CDF and is to enable delivery of an up to £1.5bn investment of national importance."

A £35.5m detailed design contract has been secured by Atkins-CH2M joint venture.

The initial award is for the £19.6m development phase and once the project is approved, the joint venture will provide £15.7m worth of design support and site assurance services.

Atkins Transportation division group managing director Philip Hoare said: "The A14 scheme will bring a much needed and long-awaited improvement to the road network between Huntingdon and Cambridge that will significantly improve performance and customer experience when it opens in 2020."

Highways England is yet to award the two remaining construction packages, which include the widening of the existing A14 from Swavesey to Milton. The contract is currently being re-tendered and is due to be awarded later this year.

The fourth package is to demolish the viaduct over the East Coast Mainline at Huntingdon and associated works, and this will be tendered in 2019.