View source for A428 road

{{short description|Road in England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox road
|country=GBR
|type=A
|route=428
|length_mi  =82.9
|length_ref =<ref>{{cite web |url=https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=52.4087,-1.4925&daddr=52.3851721,-1.3899221+to:52.3456162,-1.1035927+to:52.29512,-1.0097912+to:52.2271621,-0.8310085+to:52.23192,0.077934&hl=en&ll=52.295042,-0.601501&spn=0.944053,2.48291&sll=52.229482,-0.848694&sspn=0.11818,0.310364&geocode=FXyxHwMd7Dnp_w%3BFZRVHwMdnsrq_ynDEgxyZUh3SDGpWCq-FeXIwQ%3BFRC7HgMdGCnv_ykFuSxUzxR3SDF7VUjlWA2UKw%3BFdD1HQMdgZfw_yk7Sl2BSBJ3SDEguz1ORisa1g%3BFVrsHAMd4FHz_ymf70uN_gh3SDFm4TrRGolq8g%3BFfD-HAMdbjABAA&t=h&mra=dpe&mrsp=4&sz=12&via=1,2,3,4&z=9 |title=Directions to A428
 |publisher=Google Maps |access-date=11 April 2013}}</ref>
|image      =The A428 Road Bridge at Turvey - geograph.org.uk - 395968.jpg
|image_notes=The A428 bridge over the [[River Great Ouse]] at [[Turvey, Bedfordshire|Turvey]]
|direction_a= Northwest
|terminus_a = [[Coventry]]<br />{{coord|52.4087|-1.4925}}
|direction_b= Southeast
|terminus_b = [[Cambridge]]<br />{{coord|52.2319|0.0779}}
|junction   = {{jct|country=GBR|A|4600|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|444|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|46|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|4071|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|426|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|5|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|M|1|dab1=Great Britain}}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|4500|name1= }} <br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|5080|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|508|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|5120|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|4501|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|45|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|509|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|422|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|5141|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|6|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|5140|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|421|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|1|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|1198|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|1303|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|14|name1= }}
|destinations= [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]]<br />[[Northampton]]<br />[[Bedford]]<br />[[Cambridge]]<br />[[Coventry]]
|previous_type = A
|next_type = A
|previous_route = 427
|next_route = 429
}}

The '''A428 road''' is a major road in central and eastern England. It runs between the cities of [[Coventry]] and [[Cambridge]] by way of the [[county town]]s of [[Northampton]] and [[Bedford]].  Together with the [[A421 road|A421]], (and the [[A43 road|A43]], [[M40 motorway|M40]] and the [[A34 road|A34]]), the eastern section (Cambridge to the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1]]) of the A428 forms the route between Cambridge and [[Oxford]]. The A428 was formerly part of the main route from Birmingham to Felixstowe before the [[A14 road (England)|A14]] was fully opened in 1993.

==Route==
===Coventry–Northampton===

The road starts on the [[A4600 road|A4600]] Sky Blue Way in Coventry, heading eastbound out of the city and meeting the A444 and A4082 roads before crossing the [[A46 road|A46]] Eastern Bypass and into [[Warwickshire]]. The road then passes through the village of [[Binley Woods]] before becoming more rural in nature, meeting the [[Fosse Way]] and crossing the [[River Avon, Warwickshire|River Avon]] at [[Bretford]]. {{convert|3.8|mi}} further along, the road enters [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]] where it meets the A4071 and [[A426 road|A426]] and passes [[Rugby School]]. It then continues out of the town to the east through the suburb of [[Hillmorton]] and crosses the [[A5 road (Great Britain)|A5]] near [[Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal]] (DIRFT). It meets the M1 at its original terminus, junction 18, and bypasses the towns of [[Crick, Northamptonshire|Crick]] and [[West Haddon]]. The road passes the [[Althorp]] family estate, then enters [[Northampton]].

===Northampton–Cambridge===
East of Northampton, the road passes [[Little Houghton, Northamptonshire|Little Houghton]], [[Brafield-on-the-Green]] and [[Yardley Hastings]]. After here it enters the [[City of Milton Keynes]] (and [[Buckinghamshire]]) where it meets the [[A509 road|A509]] at Warrington roundabout. Continuing towards Bedford, the road passes [[Lavendon]] and [[Cold Brayfield]]. Crossing the [[river Great Ouse|Great Ouse]] it enters Bedfordshire at [[Turvey, Bedfordshire|Turvey]], on to [[Bromham, Bedfordshire|Bromham]]. It meets the [[A422 road|A422]] at a roundabout outside [[Bromham, Bedfordshire|Bromham]]. The road bypasses Bromham and, leaving behind its former route east-bound through Bedford (which has become the A4280), swings southwards on a new alignment then, via a new bridge over the Great Ouse, merges with the A421 south of [[Kempston]].

The A428 loses its identity here: the route continues as the A421 as it bypasses Bedford, [[Great Barford]] and [[Roxton, Bedfordshire|Roxton]] and goes on to become the dual-carriageway [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1]] at the [[Black Cat roundabout]]. Heading north, the route leaves the A1 via a [[Interchange (road)|grade separated junction]] just south of [[St Neots]] and regains its identity. Crossed by the [[East Coast Main Line]], it leaves Bedfordshire for Cambridgeshire. The A428 from here to Cambridge follows the former A45, which became the A428 when the [[A14 road (England)|A14]] opened. It meets the [[A1198 road|A1198]] (former A14) at [[Caxton Gibbet]] roundabout near [[Papworth Everard]]. From here the road is dual carriageway, bypassing the existing single carriageway section near [[Hardwick, Cambridgeshire|Hardwick]]. The route terminates, merging into the A14 at [[Girton, Cambridgeshire|Girton]] interchange, where traffic joins first from the M11 junction 14 and then from the trunk A14 road junction 31.
==Work in progress==

===A1{{ndash}}M11/A14 link===
In the "Road investment strategy" announced to Parliament by the [[Department for Transport]] and [[Secretary of State for Transport]] on 1 December 2014, planning would begin to dual the section between the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1]] and the [[A1198 road|A1198]] at [[Caxton Gibbet]].<ref name="Road Upgrade 1">{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-roads-investment-in-the-east-of-england|title=The east of England gets a £1.5 billion investment in its roads as part of the new 'Road investment strategy'. 1 December 2014}}</ref> The announcement said that the A1/A421 Black Cat roundabout would be replaced with a grade-separated junction,<ref name="Road Upgrade 1" /> just a few years after this roundabout was expensively upgraded. The link would provide an uninterrupted dual carriageway route between the [[M1 motorway|M1]] (at Junction 13) and the M11/A14 (at Junction 14 and 31) near Cambridge.<ref name="Road Upgrade 1" />

On 18 February 2019, [[Highways England]] announced final route selection for the new road between Caxton Gibbet and the Black Cat junction (which will cease to be a roundabout and become a three-level [[Interchange (road)|GSJ]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/route-unveiled-for-major-new-road-and-junction-at-black-cat | title=Route unveiled for major new road and junction at Black Cat | publisher=Highways England | date=18 February 2019 | access-date=19 February 2019}}</ref>

In September 2019, geological survey work began on the route.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huntspost.co.uk/lifestyle/holidays/first-works-on-proposed-a428-upgrade-get-under-way-1-6284374|title= First works on proposed A428 upgrade get under way|author=Daniel Mansfield |newspaper= The Hunts Post|date= 23 September 2019 |access-date= 23 September 2019 }}</ref>

In March 2021, Highways England awarded contracts for construction of the Black Cat{{snd}}Caxton Gibbet link.<ref>{{cite news |title=Highways England award £507m contract for A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements | author=Gemma Gardner |work= Cambridge Independent |date= 23 March 2021 | access-date=10 April 2021 |url=https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/amp/507m-contract-for-a428-black-cat-to-caxton-gibbet-improveme-9192178/}}</ref>

In September 2021, National Highways announced that this new section of dual carriageway will be designated A421 (and the bypassed sections will be renumbered as A1428 and B1428).<ref>{{cite press release | title=National Highways announces new road numbers for A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet scheme | url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-highways-announces-new-road-numbers-for-a428-black-cat-to-caxton-gibbet-scheme |date=16 September 2021 |author=[[Highways England]]}}</ref>
Construction began in December 2023.<ref>[https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/a428-black-cat-to-caxton-gibbet/latest-updates/ "Latest updates - The latest news from the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet project"] accessed 2025-04-09</ref>
==History==
The section between Cambridge and the A1 was originally part of the [[A45 road|A45]].

===Bypasses and realignments===
* Crick (Bypassed, now unclassified)
* West Haddon (Bypassed, now unclassified)
* Little Houghton (Bypassed, now unclassified) (the {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on}} £1.4&nbsp;million bypass opened in December 1979)
* Bromham (the {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on}} £4.8&nbsp;million bypass opened in September 1986)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.digitised_resources/bromham_digitisation_timeline.htm |title=Bromham Timeline |date=23 May 2008 |publisher=Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire Libraries |access-date=11 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007155829/http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.digitised_resources/bromham_digitisation_timeline.htm |archive-date=7 October 2007 }}</ref>
* Bedford – The first section of the Bedford Western Bypass opened December 2009. The route, {{Convert|3.2|mi|km}} in length, commences at the Bromham Bypass on the east side of the river for approximately {{Convert|1|mi|km}}. It then passes southwards crossing the [[River Great Ouse]] flood plain and bypasses [[Kempston]] to meet the [[A421 road|A421]] (A1-M1 link). The original route through Bedford was reclassified as the A4280.
* St Neots bypass (opened in December 1985, originally designated as the [[A45 road|A45]]. The former route through the town is now the B1428).
* [[Eltisley]] bypass (opened in 1972, originally designated as the [[A45 road|A45]]).

===Recent improvements===
* [[Cambourne]]: Bypassed by a {{convert|1.2|mi|km}} stretch of dual carriageway opened in May 2003.
* [[Caxton Gibbet]]: A two-lane £55&nbsp;million [[dual carriageway]] section opened on 24 May 2007 after widening works started by the [[Highways Agency]] in August 2005,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/6688331.stm |title=£55m 'commuter relief' road opens |date=24 May 2007 |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=11 April 2013}}</ref> linking this point to a grade-separated junction at Hardwick (about {{convert|5|mi|km|0}} further east).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4545.aspx |title=Highways Agency |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016191314/http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4545.aspx |archive-date=16 October 2006 }}</ref>

==References==
{{commons category}}
{{reflist}}

{{GB A road zone 4}}
{{Transport in Buckinghamshire}}
{{Portal bar|Roads|England|South East England}}

{{coord|52.16193|N|0.61841|W|type:landmark_region:GB_dim:45000|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0428}}
[[Category:Roads in England]]
[[Category:Transport in Bedfordshire]]
[[Category:Transport in Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Roads in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Transport in Northamptonshire]]
[[Category:Roads in Warwickshire]]
[[Category:Roads in the West Midlands (county)]]