Major highways projects

A43 Northampton to Kettering improvements

The A43 between Northampton and Kettering suffers from congestion hotspots, journey time delay and road safety issues due to vehicles trying to overtake. To tackle these problems, it is proposed to dual the A43 all the way between the A45 and the A14. Due to the scale of the scheme this will be achieved in phases.

Phases

Improvements to the Round Spinney roundabout (phase 1a) were completed in 2015. These resulted in increased capacity at this junction and improved traffic flow.

Phase 2 was a dualling of the section north of the Moulton roundabout to a new junction near Overstone Grange. This was opened to traffic in early 2018.

Phase 1b was fully opened for traffic in June 2020. This provided a new road between the Round Spinney and Moulton roundabouts bypassing the existing road.

Phase 3 is intended to extend the dualling to the Holcot and Sywell roundabout. A bid for Government funding towards this phase was submitted in 2016 but was not successful.

A bid for Major Road Network funding to construct this section was submitted in August 2019. We are now developing a Strategic Outline Business Case to support this submission.

Further phases will be needed to complete the dualling through to the A14 but have not yet been determined.

Public consultation

Consultation and examination hearings for the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy highlighted the view of the local community. Improvements to the A43, among other measures, are necessary to support the proposed development at Northampton North.

Scheme cost and funding

Phase 2 was constructed within its budget of £9.25m. It was comprised of:

• £6.5m of government funding secured through the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) and
• £2.75m of Section 106 funding from the Overstone Leys development

Phase 1b was constructed within its budget of £17.5m. This included:

• £7.9m of government funding through the SEMLEP Local Growth Deal, and
• £4.1m of Section 106 funding

Phase 3 has an estimated cost of £23.7m. A bid for £19.2m of Department for Transport Major Road Network funding is also being progressed.

Last updated 07 July 2023