The final section of the A14 (A1-M1 Link Road) was officially opened on July 15th 1994, with a small ceremony on a quiet piece of the road near Welford. This new East - West dual carriageway connected the port of Felixstowe with the M1 at Rugby. It improved journey times and brought much needed relief by diverting hundreds of heavy lorries away from Market Harborough and local villages along the old A427.
Although a feasibility study was submitted in 1974, it wasn't until 1988 that work started on the road. There was much opposition during its construction due to its route through the battlefield at Naseby, and from the Northamptonshire Friends of the Earth. There were also natural environmental problems encountered, like the pond of great crested newts found near Welford, and many badger sets along its route.