New £950m road to be built as legal action ends

The Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements will take several years to complete

Construction work on a new 10-mile (16km) dual carriageway through Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire would begin by the end of the year after legal action by environmentalists concluded, National Highways said.

The £950m route, running south of St Neots, will connect the Black Cat and Caxton Gibbet roundabouts, allowing vehicles to flow more freely between Bedford, Cambridge and further afield.

National Highways said work could start because the Court of Appeal refused Transport Action Network's (TAN) latest objection to the government's decision to green light the project.

The new road, which will be called the A421 instead of the A428, is now expected to open in 2027.

The Black Cat junction on the A1 south of St Neots will be upgraded for a second time in recent years to accommodate the new road

Project director Lee Galloway said: "This is a major milestone for the project and moves us a step closer to starting construction on the much needed and wanted A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements."

The current single-lane route has become a notorious bottleneck for travellers and will see the Black Cat roundabout, on the A1, and the Caxton Gibbet roundabout, near Cambourne, upgraded.

Preparation work including archaeological digs, environmental surveys and the diversion of utilities would continue before construction begins, National Highways said.

A TAN spokesman previously said it was one of the government's "biggest carbon-emitting schemes".

He said: "The government's hypocrisy in approving high-carbon infrastructure, such as new roads, while saying it is committed to tackling climate change, needs exposing and stopping."

The Department for Transport said in response it had "made ambitious pledges to achieve net-zero transport and better connect communities", including "plans to decarbonise road vehicles, boost public transport and active travel and cut carbon from road construction, maintenance and operations."