National Highways has given contractor Skanska a start date for the delayed A428 Black Cat dualling job after legal proceedings against the scheme came to an end.

Last week the Court of Appeal refused climate campaign group Transport Action Network’s final available legal challenge to planning consent for the 19km dualling job from the A1 Black Cat roundabout in Bedfordshire to the A428 Caxton Gibbet in Cambridgeshire.

With the legal process now over, National Highways will begin putting plans in place for the start of main construction on the £507m contract.

Lee Galloway, Project Director – A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements, said: “This is a major milestone for the project.

“We’ll now start putting plans in motion that will see the start of main construction on the project begin by the end of the year, subject to governance approvals.”

National Highways will continue with preparatory works ahead of the beginning of full construction including archaeology, environmental surveys and diverting utilities.”

The major improvements will help transform the region, improving journeys between Milton Keynes, Bedford, and Cambridge.

The scheme is expected to open to traffic in 2027.