A1 Black Cat to Biggleswade

We’ve completed a number of upgrades to the A1 between the Black Cat roundabout and Biggleswade in Bedfordshire over the last few years. In September 2024, we'll be doing some final maintenance work to signs and resurfacing.

Start date October 2022

End date October 2024

Cost £4.6 million

Latest updates

09 September 2024

Work resumes 25 September 2024 for 4 weeks

In the last few years, we’ve done maintenance work on the A1 between the Black Cat roundabout (where the A1 meets the A421 just south of St Neots) and Biggleswade North.

We need to return to complete some final work on signs and resurfacing between Biggleswade and Sandy in Bedfordshire.

We plan to complete this work over four weeks, starting on Wednesday 25 September 2024. We will work between 9pm and 5am on weeknights only, weather permitting.

Closures and Diversions

A1 northbound from Biggleswade South Roundabout to Biggleswade North Roundabout, with lane 2 closed A1 southbound

Wednesday 25 September 2024 to Saturday 28 September 2024

Traffic will be diverted onto the A507, A6, A421 and A603 to re-join the A1 at Sandy (map 1).

A1 northbound from Biggleswade North Roundabout to Sandy Roundabout, with lane 2 closed A1 southbound

Monday 30 September 2024 to Friday 10 October 2024

Traffic will be diverted onto the A507, A6, A421 and A603 to re-join the A1 at Sandy (map 1).

A1 northbound from Sandy Roundabout to Georgetown Road, with lane 2 closed A1 southbound

Monday 14 October 2024 to Friday 25 October 2024

Traffic will be diverted onto the A603 and A421 to re-join the A1 at the Black Cat Roundabout (map 2).

We appreciate the disruption these closures will cause, however this is the most efficient way for us to complete this work.

All dates are subject to change due to weather or operational circumstances.

Diversion maps

Map 1

Map 2

Other work in the area

Other important maintenance work we are doing on the A1 in this area includes:

A1 southbound between Wyboston junction and Black Cat Roundabout

Weeknight closures between 8pm and 6am from Monday 23 September to Friday 11 October 2024: repairing culverts to prevent flooding

Eaton Ford

Work planned to start mid-October: installing a new noise barrier near Eaton Ford (our work will be mostly off road to begin with)

A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvement scheme

National Highways is upgrading the route between the A1 Black Cat Roundabout and the Caxton Gibbet Roundabout with a new 10-mile dual carriageway and a number of junction improvements. Please visit www.nationalhighways.co.uk/a428 for more information.

See more updates

Project information

We will be replacing the safety barrier and drainage, resurfacing and refreshing the road markings on the A1 from the Black Cat roundabout to Biggleswade.

We plan to do this work over 9 months between Monday 24 October 2022 to July 2023. We will work between 8pm and 6am on weeknights, weather conditions permitting.

We’ll replace 3.8 miles of safety barrier on the dual carriageway and improve the road resurface to make journeys smoother. We’ll also replace the drainage system to reduce the risk of flooding.

We’re spending more than £200 million on more than 80 schemes across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Here is a full list of planned closures we intend to use for these works:

Closure	Date/Time	Diversion
A1 Biggleswade North Roundabout to Sandy Roundabout (northbound)	12 April to 23 June, 8pm to 6am (weeknights only)	Traffic will be diverted via the A507, A6 and the A421 to re-join the A1 at Black Cat Roundabout.

Remember that dates and time may change due to weather conditions. For the latest information, check our planned closures page.

Southbound diversion

When the A1 is closed between the Black Cat junction and Sandy, drivers heading southbound will take the A421 southwest.

Then they will take the A603 Bedford Road/Sandy Road east through Moggerhanger, re-joining the A1 at Sandy.

Drivers heading northbound will following this route in reverse.

Northbound diversion

When the A1 is closed between the Sandy and Biggleswade northbound, drivers will take the A507 Arlesey road / Ampthill road west at Radwell to Clophill.

Then they will take the A6 north through Haynes West End and Duck End to Elstow,

Then they will take the A421 east to rejoin the A1 at Black Cat Roundabout.

This scheme is part of a multi-million-pound package of improvements we are bringing to roads, pavements and bridges across the region this year.

We’ll be working on well-known roads like the M11, A14, A1, A47 and A12 as part of this package, including:

skid resistance schemes (A428 Wyboston Lakes A1 junction and A421 Barford Rd junction)
A421 Marston Shelton to Wootton noise barrier
M1 Ridgmont junction 13 bridge repairs
A421 Salford Rd junction redesign near M1
A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet major improvement