BACKGROUND

The M1-A1 Link, also called the Yorkshire Link, was one of four major highway projects in the initial program put out by the Government for DBFO implementation in the 1990s. The highway provides a critical connection between the M1 highway just south of the City of Leeds to the parallel A1 highway south of Wetherby, as shown by the site map in Exhibit 3.12 below. Although not directly charging tolls to users, this is one of many shadow toll projects enabling the Highways Agency to expedite delivery of a needed project by enabling the private sector concession team to finance, design, build, and maintain the project for a period of time, while the Government reimburses the concession team based on the volume of traffic using the road and the condition/performance of the road.

Exhibit 3.12 M1-A1 Link Site Map