The A1 underpass at Black Cat now opens mid-summer 2027, after the rest of the scheme. Current closures, the routes that matter and where Bedford parking is free.

Bedford’s traffic is shaped by one road. The A421 runs along the south of the town from the M1 at Junction 13 to the A1 at the Black Cat roundabout, and almost every longer journey out of the borough joins it at some point. That is why National Highways’ largest project in construction, at the far end of it, matters here more than it does almost anywhere else, and why the slip in its final opening date is the most useful thing a Bedford driver can know this year.

This page covers what is genuinely current, and then the parts that stay true between updates: the routes worth knowing, where to check live closures yourself, and the parking rules most people in Bedford get wrong.

Black Cat and the A428: the A1 underpass slips to mid-summer 2027

National Highways is building a 10-mile dual carriageway between the Black Cat roundabout and Caxton Gibbet, rebuilding both junctions on the way. It is a £1 billion scheme and the largest infrastructure project the agency currently has in construction. When it is finished it expects to cut average journey times on the route by up to 10 minutes.

The opening has now been split in two.

  • Spring 2027: the majority of the scheme opens, including the new 10-mile A421 dual carriageway, the new A421 flyover at Black Cat, the new Cambridge Road junction and the fully upgraded Caxton Gibbet junction.
  • Mid-summer 2027: the final phase, the new A1 underpass at Black Cat, comes into use.

Until that underpass opens, A1 traffic keeps using the Black Cat roundabout. That is the practical point for anyone driving from Bedford towards Peterborough or Cambridge: the roundabout is not going away this year.

National Highways attributes the delay on the underpass to a higher than expected number of unrecorded underground services, water, gas and telecoms, which the utility companies themselves have had to move before construction could safely continue. It says it will confirm firm opening dates in early 2027.

Progress so far, in the agency’s own figures: 7.1 million tonnes of earth moved, 60,000 tonnes of asphalt laid, over 27 miles of utilities diverted and 84 bridge beams lifted into place across 13 structures, out of 18 new bridges in total.

Current closures on the scheme

Closures on a project this size change weekly, and National Highways warns they can move at short notice. As things stand:

  • This weekend, 7 to 10 August: the A1 southbound is closed between Wyboston and Tempsford from 9pm Friday to 5am Monday for a new road layout. Diversion leaves the A1 at Wyboston Interchange onto the A428 towards St Neots, then Barford Road, rejoining at Tempsford.
  • 14 to 17 August: the A1198 southbound at Caxton Gibbet is closed from 11pm Friday to 6am Monday for drainage work.
  • 17 August to 4 September: the B1046 Abbotsley Road is closed from Potton Road for major carriageway works, including lowering the road by four metres.

Overnight closures of the A1 northbound at Black Cat have also been running for central reserve construction. Check National Highways’ closures page before you set off, because that page is updated as the programme moves and this one is not.

The layout has already changed twice

Two permanent changes are already in force and still catch people out.

At Black Cat, since 24 November 2025, the A1 southbound runs on a new stretch of road passing under the new east bridge, and the A1 northbound uses a new on-slip. Get in lane early: southbound, the left lane is A1 south, A421 or M1 and the right lane is A1 north, A421 or M1; northbound, the left lane is A421 west and Bedford Road, right lane A1 north.

At Caxton Gibbet, since 27 April 2026, A428 traffic in both directions east of the junction has been moved onto a new stretch of road while the upgraded junction and its flyover are built.

The main roads out of Bedford and what is happening on each Schematic of the roads radiating from Bedford. West on the A421 to the M1 at Junction 13. East on the A421 to the Black Cat roundabout and the A1, where the £1 billion Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet scheme opens mostly in spring 2027 with the A1 underpass following in mid-summer 2027. North on the A6 towards Rushden and Kettering. South on the A6 towards Barton-le-Clay and Luton. South east on the A600 towards Shefford and Hitchin. North east on the A428 towards St Neots and Cambridge. Where Bedford's roads go, and which one is being rebuilt Approximate directions from Bedford town centre. Only the eastern A421 has major works of any scale on it. BEDFORD town centre A6 north Rushden, Kettering A421 west M1 J13, Milton Keynes A421 east to Black Cat and the A1 Major works. Most of the new road opens spring 2027; the A1 underpass mid-summer 2027. A6 south Barton-le-Clay, Luton A600 south east Shefford, Hitchin A428 north east St Neots, Cambridge Check before you drive: National Highways for the A1, A421 and A428. Bedford Borough's roadworks map for everything else. Report a pothole or a road problem to the borough council, not to National Highways, unless it is on the A421 or the A1.
Five roads out, one big project. The eastern A421 towards the A1 is the only stretch with works of any scale on it.

Roadworks inside the borough

For anything that is not the A1, A421 or A428, the highway authority is Bedford Borough Council, and it publishes a live map.

  • Bedford Borough Council’s roadworks and road closures map shows current works and closures across the borough.
  • Anyone digging up a borough road needs a permit from the council’s street works team, and any closure affecting a bus stop has to come with a bus stop suspension application, which is why some works appear on the map with an odd amount of notice and others with almost none.
  • The council asks that A421 problems go to National Highways, not to it.
  • Flood-related closures are handled separately, on the council’s emergency flooding page. Bedford sits on the Great Ouse and this matters more here than in most towns.

Potholes and road defects are reported to the borough council through its report a pothole form. Highways inspectors check the council’s roads on a rota, but a report is the fastest way to get one looked at.

Parking in Bedford, and the rules people miss

Bedford’s parking is more generous than most towns its size, and the free allowances are not well advertised.

  • Two hours free every Saturday in every council town-centre car park, single-deck and multi-storey. This does not apply to on-street parking.
  • Two hours free Monday to Saturday at Queen Street car park.
  • Free on-street parking after 6pm, Monday to Saturday, except Castle Lane, which is 11pm.
  • Free all day Sunday, except Prebend Street, Ashburnham Road, Robinson Pool and Foster Hill Road.
  • Free for Blue Badge holders in all Bedford Borough Council car parks, with the badge displayed.

You still need to display a pay and display ticket even when the first two hours are free. The council is explicit about this, and it is the most common way to pick up a fine in Bedford: not overstaying, but parking free and not taking a ticket.

Allhallows, Lurke Street and River Street multi-storeys are open 24 hours, seven days a week. Overnight it is £2.50 from 6pm to 8am at Allhallows and Lurke Street, and £4 from 8pm to 6am at River Street, St Marys and Riverside. The first floor of River Street has a Changing Places toilet, open during car park hours.

If you park in town often, the council sells car park season tickets, which work out cheaper than paying daily and save the trip to the machine.

Getting around without the car

Trains. Bedford is on the Midland Main Line with fast East Midlands Railway services and frequent Thameslink services to London, and the Marston Vale line runs west to Bletchley for Milton Keynes. Times and fares are in our Bedford to London trains page.

Buses. Bedford Borough Council publishes bus timetables and maps for the borough, and also lists disruption to bus services during works and bad weather. It runs the bus pass scheme for the area.

On foot and by bike. The Embankment and the Great Ouse give Bedford an unusually good walking spine right through the middle of town, and the borough maintains public rights of way out into the villages. The council’s walking and cycling pages have the routes, and the stretch worth doing first, along with the two country parks at either end of the borough, is in our guide to things to do in Bedford.

What is coming

Two projects will change how Bedford moves, and both are years rather than months away. East West Rail proposes to expand the railway corridor through the town, with highway alterations, bridge works and a new viaduct north of Bedford, and expects to submit its consent application in January 2027. The Universal resort at Kempston Hardwick, permitted by a special development order that came into force on 12 January 2026, comes with its own rail and road works, including a four-platform station at Wixams. Both are covered in our Bedford planning page.

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