M11 concrete surface repairs and maintenance

We have been carrying out concrete repair and maintenance work on the stretches of concrete surface on the M11 between junction 9a and the A11 at Ickleton in both directions. The work included repairs to the concrete carriageway, drainage clearance, and renewal of road markings and reflective studs.

Start date 16 November 2020

End date 14 December 2020

Cost £1 million

The road surface repairs we made were just one of several similar projects we have planned in the East region.

The East region has the highest concentration of concrete roads on our road network, including the A14, A12, A120 and A11.

Around half of the old-style concrete will either receive holding repairs or will be replaced during next five years.

We’ll be using innovative techniques and new technology to provide a modern road that will last for decades to come, and which is easier and quicker for us to repair in future.

To find out more about our nationwide Concrete Roads work please visit our programme page.

Why we need to do this work

The surface of concrete roads that were designed between the 1950s and 1970s have an average life span of 50 years. Their surfaces are now reaching the stage where they will need to be repaired or replaced for safety reasons, and to help them be less noisy and better to drive on.

Benefits

Our road repairs will help improve the safety of the road surface. It is essential that we complete repairs to the potholes and cracking to ensure a smoother and safer ride. Once complete, we expect the life of the road surface to be extended by up to 10 more years.

Project information

During 2021, we'll also be doing maintenance and repairs to the bridge at junction 9. The works will run from September to December 2021.

We repaired potholes and cracking in the surfacing on both carriageways for the safety of motorists.

This scheme is part of the Highways England Concrete Roads Programme in the East region.

Work started on Thursday 19 November 2020 and took approximately 3 weeks to complete. To minimise disruption, our work was done overnight and at weekends. For the safety of our workers and motorists, we needed to close the road between 8pm and 6am on weekdays, and for two weekends.

Update

We are pleased to say that our work to repair the concrete road surface on the M11 junction 9 to 9a progressed well and was completed on schedule. During the first weekend road closure we managed to complete a large amount of our repair work, replacing 28 damaged concrete sections, which was quite an achievement.

Our repairs and maintenance work continued overnight throughout the following week. Unfortunately, poor weather conditions overnight on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 November have meant that work could not initially be completed as planned.

Originally, we had anticipated only needing one full weekend road closure. We therefore also had to close the road from the evening of Friday 4 December to 6am on Monday 7 December. During that weekend, we also took the opportunity to replace extra concrete road surface sections that were showing signs of deterioration, which will help the road to remain in better condition for longer. We also replaced the white road line markings and road studs (cat’s eyes). This extra weekend road closure also meant we needed less overnight weekday closures, and completed the repairs by the morning of Monday 7 December, as expected.

We thank local residents and motorists for your patience whilst we completed these important repairs. You can read more about the project in our newsletter.