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 updates
Please remember: Closures can change at short notice. For up to date information, check our daily closures page.
A1198 Ermine Street South overnight closures
We have a number of upcoming overnight closures of the A1198 Ermine Street South between the Stay Inn Hotel and Caxton Gibbet roundabout. These closures are needed to create a safe working environment for our operatives as they install temporary safety barriers.
- Full road closure from Monday 29 July to Friday 2 August, 8pm - 5am.
Diversion
From Caxton Gibbet roundabout, traffic will be diverted along the A428 westbound towards St Ives Road (B1040). Drivers travelling in the opposite direction will use the same route in reverse.
A428 and Cambridge Road (Eltisley) closures
As part of our preparation work to build the new roundabout at Eltisley, there will be a number of closures of the A428 between B1040 St Ives Road and Caxton Gibbet Roundabout, and Cambridge Road in Eltisley. These will take place from Tuesday 9 July to Monday 5 August 2024 to allow UK Power Network (UKPN) to complete major utility works.
- Cambridge Road, Eltisley: Tuesday 09 July to Thursday 11 July. Daytime road closure between 9:30am and 2:45pm.
- A428 between B1040 St Ives Road and Caxton Gibbet Roundabout, and Cambridge Road, Eltisley: Wednesday 17 July to Friday 19. Overnight road closure between 8pm and 5am.
- Cambridge Road, Eltisley: Full road closure (day and night) from7am Monday 22 July to 7am Saturday 27 July.
- Cambridge Road, Eltisley: Monday 29 July to Friday 02 August. Temporary two-way traffic lights between 8am and 6pm.
- A428 between B1040 St Ives Road and Caxton Gibbet Roundabout, and Cambridge Road, Eltisley: Full weekend closure from 7am Saturday 03 August to 5am Monday 05 August.
Diversions
Cambridge Road, Eltisley closure: Travelling from the A428, traffic will be diverted west along the A428 and then turning south onto the B1040 and east into Eltisley on the St Neots Road. Travelling from The Green, east out of Eltisley will use the same route in reverse.
A428 between B1040 St Ives Road and Caxton Gibbet Roundabout: Traffic on the A428 to/from Caxton Gibbet will be diverted via the A1198 Ermine St and then onto the B1040 St Ives Road.
Will the UKPN works affect my electricity supply?
No, we do not expect any disruption to the electricity supply while UKPN carry out these works. UKPN will be contacting residents in this area to provide them with alternative power if there is a requirement to switch off the power at any point.
A1 overnight closure
We have a number of overnight closures on the A1 Northbound and Southbound in the coming weeks. These closures are needed to safely allow us install new CCTV cameras, install temporary barriers, and to remove electrical cables no longer in use.
- A1 Southbound, Black Cat roundabout to Sandy: Overnight closure from 9pm Friday 12 July and 5am Saturday 12 July.
- A1 Southbound, Black Cat roundabout to Sandy: Overnight closure from 9pm Thursday 18 July to 5am Friday 19 July.
- A1 Northbound, Sandy to Black Cat roundabout: Overnight closure from 9pm Monday 29 July to 5am Tuesday 30 July.
Diversions
A1 Southbound closure – traffic will be diverted along the A421 westbound at the Black Cat roundabout and then along the A603 to Sandy.
A1 Northbound closure – traffic will be diverted along the A603 from Sandy and onto the A421 Eastbound.
Temporary road layout at A1 / A421 Black Cat roundabout
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 and footway closure, Caxton Gibbet
As part of our work, we need to close the cycleway and footway (73/17) just north of the existing roundabout.
A new route will open in Spring 2027.
Diversion
We'll put a diversion in place from Monday 8 July 2024.
The diversion will run 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
See a map of the cycleway and footway diversion.
Give us your feedback
Visit our A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements feedback tool to have your say. This tool includes an interactive map. You can click on a location to make a specific comment, or give us your 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
How do we plan diversions, road closures and speed limits?
We have monitored traffic volumes at 24 different locations in advance of construction and will continue to monitor it throughout the construction period. Click on some of the headings below to find out how we'll keep traffic moving during construction.
- We've carried out a ‘highest safe speed' assessment to work out the highest, safest speed you can travel through the roadworks.
- Our assessment found that a 40mph temporary speed limit is necessary to protect the road user and workforce for works to be carried out safely.
- The temporary speed limit means junctions can operate under normal capacity, resulting in a lower number of full road closures.
- The speed limit of 40mph means the temporary barriers and narrow lane systems are safer for all road users.
- We have planned construction so there are minimum road closures, diversions and road layout changes to reduce confusion.
- Road closures will be minimised as much as possible to only essential works, such as demolition works or major phasing changes.
- We will use static narrowed lanes and temporary alignments to maximise the construction work areas and keep the number of full closures as low as possible. For example, we will keep two lanes open on the A421 eastbound when we move into construction.
- At later stages in the construction we will use some of the newly constructed slip roads to keep the traffic moving: we will use slip roads and link roads to create a temporary ‘large gyratory’ at the Black Cat while the new A1 underpass is constructed.
- The A1 will be kept open as much as possible, although it is expected that A1 closures will be needed to allow the safe construction of parts of the new road. These may require a combination of weekday night closures, weekend night closures and full weekend closures.
- We have a commitment to you the road user to provide a safe and suitable diversion route around a closure.
- We will only use diversion routes that can take the type and volume of traffic that is being diverted.
- The diversion routes will stick to major A roads on our road network to minimise rat running through local villages and on local roads.
- We have to follow the diversions which are set out in the development consent order (which is like our planning permission).
- We aim to reduce disruption in your lives by managing the traffic with clear signage and advance warning.
- By standardising the way we do this, we can provide safer and more reliable journeys for you, resulting in familiarity along unfamiliar routes.
- All diversion routes are agreed with the relevant local authorities.
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