Weekend M11 closures for roadworks prompt concern over congestion and air pollution in Cambridge
Concerns over congestion and air quality have been raised as traffic heading northbound on the M11 is diverted through Cambridge for three weekends.
National Highways closed the motorway between Junction 11 and 12 from 10pm on Friday (January 21) until 5am on Monday (January 24) for roadworks, and further closures are planned for the next two weekends.
Traffic is being diverted through Trumpington, leading to congestion.
And it comes at a time when roadworks are also in place on the A603 Barton Road.
A spokesperson for the group Clean Air Cambridge said of the M11 closure: “It has a high potential for congestion, disruption and pollution affecting residents and frustrating drivers.
“To make matters worse there are road works ongoing on Barton Road where the road has collapsed into the river. At that point there are temporary traffic lights and single file traffic. Can you imagine HGV lorries queuing up all through Cambridge?”
Clean Air Cambridge suggested the works should have been better co-ordinated to avoid disruption.
“Last weekend we had high pollution again in Cambridge,” said the group. “We are very concerned that static, idling heavy traffic in Cambridge will have a huge impact on air quality.”
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