Support for A428 Black Cat improvement scheme

The plans for the scheme to replace the Black Cat roundabout with a new arrangement which separates the main roads from the junction and to construct a new dual carriageway to fully dual the route between Bedford and Cambridge have received strong backing from members of the public responding to a recent consultation.

Mayor Dave Hodgson and Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for a comprehensive scheme to cut congestion and end the daily delays suffered by local users of the Black Cat roundabout.

Highways England is proposing to replace the notorious junctions with a new, free-flowing junction and create a new 10-mile dual carriageway linking it to a redesigned Caxton Gibbet junction, replacing the only remaining section of single carriageway between Milton Keynes and Cambridge and tackling one of the region's most notorious congestion hotspots.

More than 2,500 people attended a programme of 15 events held over an eight-week period last summer, with thousands more engaging with the project online and 925 people sending in detailed responses to the consultation.

Eighty-eight per cent of people said they support the proposed new 10-mile dual carriageway linking the Black Cat roundabout in Bedfordshire to the Caxton Gibbet roundabout in Cambridgeshire.

A further eight-six per cent of respondents backed the plans for the three-tier design of the Black Cat junction, which would see traffic on the A1 and A428 flow freely through the junction.

During the consultation, Highways England's proposals were brought to life using more than 2 billion blocks in the popular video game Minecraft. It was the first time that a major road scheme had been built in the game, and gave the opportunity for the next generation of drivers to share their views on the three-tier Black Cat roundabout or dual carriageway.

Mayor Dave Hodgson, Chair of England's Economic Heartland's Strategic Transport Forum and Mayor of Bedford Borough, said "We welcome the findings of the consultation. It reaffirms the high degree of public support for improving connectivity between the Black Cat and Caxton Gibbet - reducing the congestion and delays suffered daily by our residents and businesses, increasing the resilience of the network, and supporting economic growth and the ambitions of Local Plans. This publication is another positive step on the way to seeing significant investment being made in the Heartland region to the benefit of both the regional and UK economies."