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 The A428 bridge over theRiver Great Ouse atTurvey | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 82.9 mi[1] (133.4 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| Northwest end | Coventry 52°24′31″N1°29′33″W / 52.4087°N 1.4925°W /52.4087; -1.4925 | |||
| Major intersections |  A4600 A444 A46 A4071 A426 A5 M1 A4500 A5080 A508 A5120 A4501 A45 A509 A422 A5141 A6 A5140 A421 A1 A1198 A1303 A14 | |||
| Southeast end | Cambridge 52°13′55″N0°04′40″E / 52.2319°N 0.0779°E /52.2319; 0.0779 | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Primary destinations | Rugby Northampton Bedford Cambridge Coventry | |||
| Road network | ||||
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TheA428 road is a major road in central and eastern England. It runs between the cities ofCoventry andCambridge by way of thecounty towns ofNorthampton andBedford. Together with theA421, (and theA43,M40 and theA34), the eastern section (Cambridge to theA1) of the A428 forms the route between Cambridge andOxford. The A428 was formerly part of the main route from Birmingham to Felixstowe before theA14 was fully opened in 1993.
The road starts on theA4600 Sky Blue Way in Coventry, heading eastbound out of the city and meeting the A444 and A4082 roads before crossing theA46 Eastern Bypass and intoWarwickshire. The road then passes through the village ofBinley Woods before becoming more rural in nature, meeting theFosse Way and crossing theRiver Avon atBretford. 3.8 miles (6.1 km) further along, the road entersRugby where it meets the A4071 andA426 and passesRugby School. It then continues out of the town to the east through the suburb ofHillmorton and crosses theA5 nearDaventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT). It meets the M1 at its original terminus, junction 18, and bypasses the towns ofCrick andWest Haddon. The road passes theAlthorp family estate, then entersNorthampton.
East of Northampton, the road passesLittle Houghton,Brafield-on-the-Green andYardley Hastings. After here it enters theCity of Milton Keynes (andBuckinghamshire) where it meets theA509 at Warrington roundabout. Continuing towards Bedford, the road passesLavendon andCold Brayfield. Crossing theGreat Ouse it enters Bedfordshire atTurvey, on toBromham. It meets theA422 at a roundabout outsideBromham. 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 ofKempston.
The A428 loses its identity here: the route continues as the A421 as it bypasses Bedford,Great Barford andRoxton and goes on to become the dual-carriagewayA1 at theBlack Cat roundabout. Heading north, the route leaves the A1 via agrade separated junction just south ofSt Neots and regains its identity. Crossed by theEast Coast Main Line, it leaves Bedfordshire for Cambridgeshire. The A428 from here to Cambridge follows the former A45, which became the A428 when theA14 opened. It meets theA1198 (former A14) atCaxton Gibbet roundabout nearPapworth Everard. From here the road is dual carriageway, bypassing the existing single carriageway section nearHardwick. The route terminates, merging into the A14 atGirton interchange, where traffic joins first from the M11 junction 14 and then from the trunk A14 road junction 31.
In the "Road investment strategy" announced to Parliament by theDepartment for Transport andSecretary of State for Transport on 1 December 2014, planning would begin to dual the section between theA1 and theA1198 atCaxton Gibbet.[2] The announcement said that the A1/A421 Black Cat roundabout would be replaced with a grade-separated junction,[2] just a few years after this roundabout was expensively upgraded. The link would provide an uninterrupted dual carriageway route between theM1 (at Junction 13) and the M11/A14 (at Junction 14 and 31) near Cambridge.[2]
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-levelGSJ).[3]
In September 2019, geological survey work began on the route.[4]
In March 2021, Highways England awarded contracts for construction of the Black Cat – Caxton Gibbet link.[5]
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).[6]
In March 2021, Transport SecretaryGrant Shapps cancelled a proposed grade-separated dual carriageway between M1 J13 and the A34 near Oxford, citing analysis that showed that its costs would exceed its benefits.[7]
The section between Cambridge and the A1 was originally part of theA45.
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52°09′43″N0°37′06″W / 52.16193°N 0.61841°W /52.16193; -0.61841
