A421 road

A421
The A421 looking towardsBuckinghamfrom Maywynn Farm.
Route information
Length	44.4 mi (71.5 km)
Major junctions
East end	A1Black Cat RoundaboutnearSt Neots
Major intersections	A1 A6 M1 A4146 A5 A43
West end	A43nearBrackley
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Primary destinations	Bedford Milton Keynes
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones
←A420 →A422

TheA421is an important road for east/west journeys across south centralEngland.Together with theA428,theA43andA34,it forms the route fromCambridgethroughMilton KeynestoOxford.The section between theA1(nearSt Neots) and theA5(inMilton Keynes) is a nationalprimary route.

Route

The road begins at theA1,just south ofSt Neots(and the junction with theA428from Cambridge), at theBlack Cat Roundabout.The road bypasses bothGreat BarfordandBedfordto the south to reach theM1at junction 13. From there, it swings up through the southern part ofMilton Keynes,doubling as the local grid roadH8 Standing Way.During this time it crosses theA5(and connects to it via a short spur which is part of theV6 Grafton Street).

Continuing westwards, as the route approachesBuckinghamthe road passes close by to the 14th centuryThornborough Bridge,the only surviving mediaeval bridge inBuckinghamshirewhich was bypassed by the new bridge in 1974. Close to here, it then forms the Buckingham by-pass before joining theA43(Northampton—M40junction 10) nearBrackley.(On crossing the A43, the route due westward becomes theB4031throughCroughton,AynhoandDeddingtonto join theA361toChipping Norton).

The section from the A1 to the M1 is dual carriageway and fully grade-separated, with the section between Bedford and the M1 completed in December 2010,winning theBritish Construction Industry Awardin 2011.

As of October 2020, the section from junction 13 of the M1 to the south-western flank of Milton Keynes is a dual carriageway. Upon leaving Milton Keynes, the section of road to the A43 is a single carriageway, with the exception of the bypass aroundTingewick.

Developments

M1 Junction 13 to Milton Keynes

In conjunction with theM1 widening schemesand dualling of the A421 between M1 Junction 13 and the A1 near St Neots (see above), proposals were made to widen the A421 between the M1 junction 13 in Bedfordshire and the Kingston roundabout in Milton Keynes.Exhibitions were held in June 2005 which rejected proposals to re-route the road in favour of widening the current road. In 2005 the project was given an estimated total cost of £33 million.

Funding of £23.5 million was confirmed by the government for these works, as part of theSouth East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership"Local Growth Deal".As part of the government'spinch pointreduction programme, in 2014 work commenced on the A421 in Milton Keynes to improve the Kingston roundabout, and dual the section from it to (near) the Bedfordshire border, with the construction of two new roundabouts on the route. The road corridor includes a separatecycleway.

The upgrade work for this final phase of the plan, the section running from junction 13 toEagle Farmroundabout, started in September 2018 and was completed in December 2020.

A1–M11/A14 link

In the "Road investment strategy" announced to Parliament by theDepartment for TransportandSecretary of State for Transporton 1 December 2014, planning would begin to dual the section between theA1and theA1198atCaxton Gibbet.The announcement said that the A1/A421Black Cat Roundaboutwould be replaced with a grade-separated junction,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.

In September 2021, National Highways announced that this new section of dual carriageway will be designated A421.The announcement does not say whether the section between the A1198 and the A14/M11 junction will also be renumbered, which would create a single designation for the entire route between these junctions.

Oxford to Cambridge Expressway

Main article:Oxford to Cambridge Expressway

The Oxford to Cambridge Expressway was a proposed grade-separated dual carriageway between theA34nearOxfordand theA14nearCambridge,via (or near) Milton Keynes. The proposal aimed to establish this route by linking existing roads and building new ones. The case for its creation was examined in a Strategic Study for theCambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford corridor,published byNational Infrastructure Commissionin November 2016.The NIC saw the road as being of national strategic importance by providing an outer orbital route aroundLondon,linkingSouthampton,theM3,M4,M40,M1,A1,A14/M11andFelixstowe.Had this plan been realised, it would have replaced the current congested single carriageway road betweenWest Bletchleyand theA43.

In March 2021, Transport SecretaryGrant Shappscancelled the plan, citing analysis that showed that its costs would exceed its benefits.

Notable events

Five seconds of fame

The A421Tingewickbypass has a minor claim to fame as the location of the then fastest speeding incident ever recorded by British police, in March 2003.Andrew Osborne, 31, ofLeamington Spa,was filmed by a mobilespeed camerawhile travelling at 157 miles per hour (253 km/h) on a motorcycle. His friend Neil Bolger, 30, ofGaydon,was clocked at 148 miles per hour (238 km/h). Both were convicted of dangerous driving, imprisoned for 28 days and banned from driving for two years (with a compulsory re-test).

Blind driver

BlindMartine Brooks drove along the newly constructed A421Great BarfordBypass (From theA1Black Cat Roundabout toBedford) and back to raise money for charity.The drive took place two days before the official road opening, and she was accompanied by Frank Branston (Mayor of Bedford), Steve Clarke (Teacher and Navigator), and Denise Hubbard (Driving Instructor and Car Owner).

She reached a speed of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h) before doing a flawless three point turn, and returning to theA1.

External links

• The Great Barford (A421) Driving Challenge
• Highways Agency response to a query about widening the Berry Farm Underpass to allow for the canal(made under the 'Freedom of Information Act')