Auction of A14 roadworks equipment raises £500k

Hundreds of people went online to bid for equipment used during the construction of a £1.5bn road project.

The auction of items, used during work on the A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge, raised almost £500,000.

Highways England said almost 1,000 people took part in the bidding over two days, making offers on lots including solar-powered road signs, storage containers and a security hut.

The money will be offset against the overall cost of the scheme.

Highways England said the "quirkiest" item was a bespoke pre-cast headwall with integral pond filtration unit that sold for about £200.

It said there was a lot of interest in solar-powered variable message signs (VMS) and land surveying equipment, including a hand-held data collector that fetched £9,000 after 112 bids.

Digital cameras, televisions, desks, office chairs, coat racks, a drone and a bike shelter were among the 1,000 or so items sold by Peaker Pattinson (Auctioneers) Ltd of Stamford, Lincolnshire.

Ahead of the sale, Julian Lamb, Highways England's construction director for the A14 project, said the money would go back into the project and "reduce the final bill for the scheme".

Work on the 21-mile (34km) route between the M11 at Cambridge and the A1 at Huntingdon began in November 2016 and finished in May this year.

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