Diversions, closures and speed restrictions

We're trying to minimise road closures and keep traffic flowing as much as possible while the improvements are carried out. Stay up to date with diversions, road closures and current restrictions on this page.

While it won't always be possible to completely avoid some short-term delays and congestion, we have looked at lots of different scenarios and outcomes to keep open as many lanes as we can. We are working closely with local authorities to keep traffic moving as much as possible during construction.

What you can expect to see:

The A1, A421 and A428 will mainly remain open for the duration of the works.

There will be occasional overnight closures and full weekend closures, when we'll need to connect the new and existing roads, build bridges, and unload sizeable items of equipment or materials.

We're committed to being a good neighbour - so we're working hard with our contractors to plan and phase the construction, to really minimise impacts to all road users and the local community.

Current closures

The Lane (Wyboston) closures - May 2025

We are finalising construction of the new Roxon Road link. 

To work safely, The Lane (Wyboston) will be closed at the following times: 

  • 8am to 5pm Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 May 2025 (daytime closures)
  • 8pm Friday 16 to 6am Monday 19 May 2025 (weekend closure)

Diversion

We will divert traffic north along Staploe Road and east on Bushmead Road into Eaton Socon.

We are installing a new temporary barrier on the A1. 

To work safely, the A1 southbound will be closed between Black Cat roundabout and Tempsford 9pm to 6am from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 May 2025.

Diversion

We will divert traffic off the A1 at Wyboston, east along the A428 towards St Neots, before taking Barford Road to rejoin the A1 at Tempsford.

View A1 southbound closure diversion route map. 

We're installing a new temporary safety barrier on the A1. 

To work safely, the A1 northbound between Tempsford and Black Cat roundabout will be closed overnight (9pm to 5am) Tuesday 6 May to Friday 9 May 2025.

Diversion 

We'll divert traffic off the A1 at Tempsford, where road users will take Barford Road and the A428 west at St Neots to rejoin the A1.

Diversion route map

We are demolishing the old Roxton Road bridge.

To work safely, the A421 will be closed between Renhold Interchange and the Black Cat roundabout from 9pm Friday 16 to 6am Monday 19 May 2025.

Diversion 

We will divert traffic off the A421 at Cardington, taking the A603 through Willington and Moggerhanger, heading north on the A1 at Sandy.

View the A421 diversion route map.

We're removing the closed sections of A428 and B1048, as well as removing overhead power cables. 

Closures

To work safely, we'll close the A428 between Tithe Farm (St Neots) and Caxton Gibbet roundabout:

  • 8pm Friday 25 to 6am Monday 28 April 2025
  • 8pm Friday 9 May to 6am Monday 12 May 2025

Diversion

We'll divert traffic:

  • along the A428 towards St Neots
  • A1 northbound to Brampton Hut
  • return on A1 southbound to join A14 eastbound
  • leave A14 at A1198 Ermine Street towards Caxton Gibbet roundabout

A428 Tithe Farm and Caxton Gibbet roundabout diversion map.

We’ll be preparing for the opening of the new Roxton Road and bridge. During the closure, we’ll surfacing the new road, install kerbs, and complete the tie-in between the new road and the existing network.

To work safely, Roxton Road will be closed at the following times:

  • 7pm Friday 2 May to 6am Monday 5 May 2025
  • 7pm Friday 9 May to 6am Monday 12 May 2025
  • 9pm Friday 16 to 6am Monday 19 May 2025*

Diversion

We will divert traffic along The Lane where they will join the A1 northbound and head towards Wyboston roundabout.

Pedestrians needing to use the footpath through the Roxton Road worksite will be safely escorted by a member of the team.

View the Roxton Road diversion route map.

* Due to the closure of The Lane during at the same time we will divert traffic north along Staploe Road and east on Bushmead Road into Eaton Socon.

Please remember that closures can change at short notice. You can check the latest information on our daily closures page or find live travel information on our Traffic England site. Our travel alerts give details of live incidents on our network.

Give us your feedback

Use our A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements feedback tool to have your say.

This tool features an interactive map, allowing you to click on specific locations to leave targeted comments or provide general feedback.

ECHO is a one-way feedback tool, so if you'd like a response to your feedback you can email the project team at:info@a428.co.uk

Longer term closures

Eltisley junction opens to traffic - from April 2025

As part of the construction of the new A421 dual carriageway between the Black Cat roundabout and Caxton Gibbet, 

We're making changes to to how drivers use the A428 at Eltisley:

  • we'll remove the B1040 north junction at St Ives Road
  • drivers will use two new roundabouts linked by a bridge crossing the new dual carriageway. 

From 14 April 2025, we'll direct traffic on the A428 onto the new junction at Eltisley. 

Following this we'll: 

  • remove the closed section of A428 carriageway
  • build a new connection linking Cambridge Road (Eltisley) and the new southern roundabout. 

We expect to reopen Cambridge Road (Eltisley) in summer 2025. 

Eltisley junction layout from April 2025.

In January 2024, we made a temporary switch to the road layout at the Black Cat roundabout as we began work to upgrade the junction. This temporary layout has allowed traffic to continue to pass through the roundabout smoothly - removing the need to close any part of the road permanently.

The current road layout will be in place until spring 2025.

Please be assured that we take your feedback extremely seriously and have been monitoring the area constantly since implementation. We monitor via live CCTV, as well as multiple daily visits to site at various times of the day, in daylight as well as in the dark.

View temporary road layout map

Cycle, pedestrian and horse rider route closure, Caxton Gibbet

As part of our work, we need to close the cycleway, pedestrian and horse rider route (73/17) just north of the existing roundabout.

While these works take place, cyclists, pedestrians, and horse riders will be directed along a diversion route, running eastward along the A1198 Ermine Street, avoiding our worksites and rejoining the road at Brockley Road.

We estimate the diversion will make journeys longer by:

  • 5 minutes for cyclists
  • 15 minutes for walkers

View diversion route map

An upgraded route will open to cyclists, pedestrians, and horse riders in spring 2027.

Temporary closure of Cambridge Road (Eltisley) - 27 August 2024 to Spring 2025

As part of our work to upgrade Eltisley junction, we need to divert utilities and raise the level of the existing road.

To do this safely and efficiently, we'll need to close Cambridge Road for an extended period of time from Tuesday 27 August 2024.

We expect the work to be complete and the road reopened by spring 2025.

Diversion

Travelling from the A428

Traffic will be diverted along west of the A428 and then south onto the B1040 and east into Eltisley on the St Neots Road.

Travelling from The Green

Traffic will be diverted east out of Eltisley along St Neots Road, then north onto B1040 to the A428.

View Cambridge Road (Eltisley) diversion route map.

Permanent closure of A1 access from Chawston Lane - 30 August to Spring 2025

On Friday 30 August 2024, we'll permanently close the access to and from the A1 on Chawston Lane.

This will allow us speed up construction of the new Roxton Road link without multiple road closures.

The new link road is expected to be complete in spring 2025. 

If you live on Chawston lane, you will still have access to your property. However, you will need to follow the dedicated diversion route. 

Diversion

Travelling from Chawston Lane

Traffic will be diverted south down Roxton Road until it reaches the junction with Bedford Road. Road users will then head east towards the Black Cat roundabout or west towards Roxton village.

Travelling towards Chawston Lane

Traffic will be diverted north up Roxton Road until it reaches the junction with Chawston Lane. 

Planning diversions, traffic management and speed limits 

We've monitored traffic volumes at 24 different locations ahead of construction. We'll continue monitoring it throughout construction.

Highest safe speed

We've assessed that a 40mph temporary speed limit is necessary to protect road users and our workforce.

The temporary speed limit allows junctions to operate at their normal capacity. This means we'll need fewer full road closures.

Carriageway and slip road closures

We've planned our work to keep road closures, diversions and road layout changes to a minimum.

As far as possible, we'll only use closures for for essential works, like demolition or major phasing changes.

We'll use static narrowed lanes and temporary alignments to maximise working space. This will help us keep the number of full closures as low as possible. For example, we'll keep two lanes open on the A421 eastbound when we start construction.

Later in construction, we'll use some of the newly constructed slip roads to keep the traffic moving. We'll use slip roads and link roads to create a temporary ‘large gyratory’ at the Black Cat while we build the new A1 underpass.

How we choose diversion routes

We're committed to giving you safe and suitable diversions around closures. We'll only use diversion routes that can take the type and volume of traffic that's being diverted.

Diversion routes will stick to major A roads on our road network, minimising rat running on local roads. We'll agree diversion routes with the relevant local authorities.

We must follow the diversions set out in the development consent order (which is like our planning permission). 

We'll reduce disruption by managing traffic with clear signs and advance warning.

 

Sign up for updates

Keep updated on the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements

Sign up for updates
Black Cat logo
Feedback