Press release

A1 (M) open to traffic

Work to reduce congestion on the A1 (M) at Welwyn in Hertfordshire is now open to traffic.

The £4.5m scheme at junction 6 to ease congestion at this important junction is substantially complete and road users will experience the benefits to the new road layout.

The work which started in December has seen the existing northbound carriageway and slip roads improved as well as a new road surface, new road markings, new safety fencing and improved drainage.

Highways England Project Manager Mark Saunders said:

The new layout has improved this busy junction as lane one now leaves the motorway at junction 6 and lanes two and three continue on to junction 7. This has removed the bottleneck within the junction where lanes two and three used to merge.

The on-slip has been extended to give a greater distance for traffic to merge with existing A1 traffic.

The improvements are substantially complete and we’ll be carrying out some finishing off works between now and mid-summer to install the new overhead gantry signs.

There will be the need to close the road fully overnight for two nights and some overnight hard shoulder and lane one closures in order to erect the new gantries. Further details will be announced soon.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Published 28 May 2015