£1bn Black Cat scheme gets green light

19/08/2022 | CHRIS AMES

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has granted a Development Consent Order (DCO) for National Highways to begin work on the much-delayed A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet scheme, which is due to cost nearly £1bn.

The scheme will see the creation of a new 10-mile dual carriageway linking the A1 Black Cat roundabout in Bedfordshire to the A428 Caxton Gibbet roundabout in Cambridgeshire.

Both roundabouts will be upgraded into free-flowing junctions with a new junction added at Cambridge Road, improving access to St Neots and its train station.

National Highways said the project, which is currently priced at £810m to £950m, will help drivers save up to an hour and a half every week at what it called ‘one of the region’s most notorious congestion hotspots’.

Project director Lee Galloway said: ‘This announcement is a major milestone, not only for us, but also for the many local communities who have long campaigned for improvements, as well as our stakeholders who we’ve been working with for several years.'

Dave Hodgson, mayor of Bedford Borough, said: ‘It’s great to see that we have passed another important milestone for the upgraded route.’

The scheme was first announced by the Coalition Government in 2014 and formed part of the first (2015-20) Road Investment Strategy (RIS).

When it was announced in 2018 that the start of the scheme had been put back to 2021-22, Mr Hodgson slammed the delay as ‘costly for businesses and desperately disappointing for motorists’.

In its latest announcement, National Highways said it ‘aims to start construction later this year’.

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s Annual Report on Major Projects 2021-22 gave the project an ‘amber’ rating - meaning delivery is feasible but there are significant issues.

Spending data released by the Department for Transport in relation to the report noted that the scheme had underspent by £20m (42%) against budget, noting: ‘The DCO application was submitted later than anticipated to allow the incorporation of lessons learnt from other unsuccessful applications. The DCO examination also started later than expected due to a longer DCO pre-examination period imposed by PINS.’

It added: ‘As a result, the programme was rephased and the spike associated with the commencement of construction, budgeted in 2021/22 will now occur in the following year, subject to the DCO being granted in August 2022.’

In its recent Annual Assessment of National Highways, the Office of Rail and Road disclosed that the scheme was one of two that had their start of works targets deferred and were classified as ‘missed commitments’.

It noted that the government-owned company gave reasons for missing its commitments, but stated: ‘National Highways should have foreseen these issues and mitigated them beforehand.’

The Black Cat roundabout will be upgraded to a triple deck junction

AECOM technical director Phil Wayles said: ‘AECOM’s multidisciplinary teams have worked collaboratively with National Highways and other project partners for over five and a half years and led delivery of the preliminary design and DCO statutory process stages.

‘This significant milestone has been achieved through amazing teamwork to meet the many challenges of the DCO process.’

Highways InProfile

latest magazine issue
Highways jobs

Civil Enforcement Officers x 2

£26,403.00 - £28,142.00, Grade 5, 37 hours, Permanent
Parking Services are looking to recruit 2 full time Civil Enforcement Officers to complement its existing workforce. Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recruiter: Wakefield Council

Senior Street Cleanse Technician x 3 (CDC)

Grade 6 £25,981 - £26,815
We are about to embark on an ambitious programme of change in our city. Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Recruiter: City Of Doncaster Council

Highways Development Officer

£37,280 - £40,777
This is an exciting time for a talented, self-driven professional to join us in the role of Highways Development Management Co-ordinator. Gloucester
Recruiter: Gloucestershire County Council

Principal Highways Development Officer

£48,226 - £51,35
This is an exciting time for a talented, self-driven professional to join us in the role of Highways Principal Development Management Co-ordinator . Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Recruiter: Gloucestershire County Council

Street Lighting Project Engineer

PO2 - £41,442 to £44,331
Help us keep our streets safe, efficient and ready for the future Greenwich, London (Greater)
Recruiter: Royal Borough of Greenwich

Principal Engineer - Highways Development Management

£47,181.00 - £50,269.00, Grade 11, 37 hours, Permanent
We are seeking a dedicated Principal Highways Development Management Engineer to join our team. Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recruiter: Wakefield Council

Highways Development Management Engineer

£32,061.00 - £46,142.00, Career Grade 7-10, 37 hours, Permanent
Do you want to join a team helping to shape the future of Wakefield through HIghways Development Management? Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recruiter: Wakefield Council

Highways Project Engineer

£31,537 - £42,839 per annum
Would you like to be part of our friendly, welcoming Highways team, proud to manage all aspects of the highway network? Boroughbridge, York
Recruiter: North Yorkshire Council

Highways Project Engineer

£31,537 - £42,839 per annum
Would you like to be part of our friendly, welcoming Highways team, proud to manage all aspects of the highway network? Skipton, North Yorkshire
Recruiter: North Yorkshire Council

Technician - Highway Inspector

Grade 8 £29,719 - £31,691 per annum
Within the Highways Maintenance Team we are looking for an enthusiastic, customer focused and experienced person Derbyshire
Recruiter: Derbyshire County Council

Highway Design and Construction Manager

Grade N, scp50 £62,443 to scp53 £65,663 per annum, plus essential car user allowance
We embrace AI to enhance our operations and to innovate our services. Bolton, Greater Manchester
Recruiter: Bolton Council

Technician - Highway Inspector

Grade 8 £29,719 - £31,691 per annum
At Derbyshire, we have been on a journey to transform the way we deliver highway services. Derbyshire
Recruiter: Derbyshire County Council

Team Leader (Maintenance Operations)

Grade 10 - £48,226 - £51,356
Cardiff is growing faster than any other capital city in Europe. Cardiff (Caerdydd)
Recruiter: Cardiff Council

Highways Supervisor

£Competitive
We have a fantastic opportunity for a permanent Highways Supervisor Forfar, Angus
Recruiter: Amey

Tree Surveyor

£Competitive
We are excited to offer fantastic opportunities for Permanent Tree Surveyors Scotland
Recruiter: Amey

Chief Operating Officer – South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee

£Competitive
We’re looking for a bold, visionary leader to take on the role of Chief Operating Officer Carmarthenshire (Sir Gaerfyrddin)
Recruiter: Carmarthenshire County Council

Clerk of Works - Highways

£Competitive
We have a fantastic opportunity for a Clerk of Works to join our dynamic NMC SW Account team at Polmadie. Glasgow, Glasgow City
Recruiter: Amey

Highways Supervisor

£Competitive
We have a fantastic opportunity for a permanent Highways Supervisor to join our NMC NE account in Kinross. Perth and Kinross
Recruiter: Amey

Planner - Highways

£Competitive
We have a fantastic opportunity for Permanent Planner – Highways to join our NMC SW Account. Glasgow City
Recruiter: Amey

Highways Maintenance Manager

£51,356 - £55,539 per annum
We are looking for an experienced Engineer to join the team as a Highways Maintenance Manager Selby, North Yorkshire
Recruiter: North Yorkshire Council
SUBSCRIBE NOW

Latest Video

Subscribe to Highways today to ensure you keep your finger on the pulse of everything happening in the UK road network throughout the year.

SUBSCRIBE NOW