National Highways has shared its latest updated plans for opening the new A428 Black Cat road and junction improvements that will make journeys across Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire quicker, safer and more reliable.
The agency says that by spring 2027, the majority of the scheme will be open, including the new 10-mile A421 dual carriageway between Black Cat junction in Bedfordshire and Caxton Gibbet in Cambridgeshire.
Also open will be key junction improvements, including:
- The new A421 flyover at Black Cat junction
- Dual carriageway entry and exit access at the new Cambridge Road junction
- Fully upgraded Caxton Gibbet junction.
The final phase of the scheme will open in mid-summer 2027, when the new A1 underpass at Black Cat junction comes into use.
By opening the scheme in phases, road users will be able to benefit from the new road and junction improvements sooner, with safer, quicker and more reliable journeys between Milton Keynes, Bedford, St Neots and Cambridge.
The final part of the scheme is the new A1 underpass at Black Cat junction, which is the most complex element of the project.
During construction, it was discovered that there were a higher than expected number of unrecorded underground services, including water, gas and telecommunications services, which needed to be safely moved before work could continue.
Many essential services have been installed underground over decades, and some older records are incomplete. To protect supplies to homes and businesses, these services must be carefully identified and relocated before construction can progress.
As these diversion works must be carried out by the utility providers themselves, they have affected the timeline for this part of the project.
Opening the scheme in phases, says National Highways, means that “people can start benefiting from the new road as soon as possible while we complete the remaining work at Black Cat junction.”
(Picture: National Highways)
