Three-tier roundabout planned at Black Cat junction as part of A428 upgrade plans
An ambitious plan for a three-tier roundabout on the A1 in Bedfordshire is a key element of improvements to the road network from Milton Keynes to Cambridge, writes Local Democracy Reporter Euan Duncan.
The latest proposals to end congestion at the Black Cat roundabout, near Roxton, form part of a project estimated to cost between £880m and £1.4bn.
It includes a ten-mile stretch of dual carriageway, running mainly alongside the A428, from the A1 to Caxton Gibbet in Cambridgeshire.
The scheme will enable traffic using the A1 and the A421 to flow freely, without having to stop at the Black Cat roundabout.
There will also be a dedicated left-turn lane for motorists heading east on the A421 to access the A1 northbound without stopping.
New junctions are planned between St Neots and Croxton, at Caxton Gibbet, and with the redevelopment of the A1 roundabout near Roxton.
The A1 will pass under the new Black Cat roundabout and will be below ground level.
A new and bigger Black Cat roundabout will be at ground level, while the A421 dual carriageway would pass over the roundabout and continue through to Caxton Gibbet.
New bridges will be built over the River Great Ouse and the East Coast Main Line railway.
Traffic will be reduced on the A1 between the Black Cat roundabout and Wyboston, where it currently accesses the A428.
Vehicles heading east to west, or vice-versa, can remain on the A421 instead.
The development involves extending the dual carriageway from Milton Keynes to Cambridge, and will start just to the west of the Black Cat junction.
Access to Roxton via Bedford Road from the A1/A421 junction will remain the same.
But direct access to the A1 will be closed off at several points near the Black Cat roundabout, with a new local link road ensuring safer access for traffic.
And a new service road will provide access from the BP filling station and Great North Road to the Black Cat junction.
Safer routes for walkers, cyclists and horse riders will maintain links to the public rights of way in the area, according to a Highways England public consultation report.
It said: “The scheme will improve road safety for communities by reducing dangerous rat-running on local roads and through villages, such as Chawston, Wyboston and Little Barford.
“The new dual carriageway, together with improvements to the A14, will form part of a key route to the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich.
“The Black Cat is a well-known and much-loved waymarker on the roundabout,” added the report.
“As part of our plans, we’ll make sure that this local landmark lives on in our new junction.”
If all goes to plan, work could start on the new road in late 2021 with it opening in 2025/26.
Initial public consultation was carried out two years ago, with the preferred route announced in February this year.
Applications for these projects are submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the secretary of state for transport, rather than to local authorities.
If the scheme is approved, the permission granted is called a development consent order (DCO).
The proposals are expected to be ready for consideration by early next year.
The current consultation event and exhibition visited the Stuart Memorial Hall in Tempsford this week.
It will be in Roxton Village Hall on Thursday, July 18 from 12pm to 8pm, while a pop-up event is scheduled for the centre:mk in Milton Keynes on Saturday, July 13 between 10am and 3pm.