To the Batcave: New dual carriageway at Black Cat boasts a tunnel Bruce Wayne would be proud of

… a bat tunnel even The Dark Knight would approve of.

It forms part of the embankments on the A428 dual carriageway to give bats and other mammals a safe route between habitats separated by the new road.

With National Highways making the £1 billion improvements between the Black Cat roundabout and Caxton Gibbet – due to open to traffic in spring 2027 – it’s been keen to protect the wildlife and environment from the get-go.

Ecological surveys carried out in 2021 helped the Government-owned company understand how wildlife uses the area, including identifying bat flight paths crossing the route of the new dual carriageway.

So, to help bats safely navigate the new road, National Highways has built a 45-metre-long, 5-metre-wide and 4.5-metre-high tunnel, alongside new hedgerows, trees and shrubs. Specially designed fencing will also help guide bats and other wildlife towards the crossing.

No Batmobile needed (boooooo).

It’s estimated that when the dual carriageway opens next year, drivers will save up to 10 minutes per journey at peak times – adding up to 1.5 hours every working week.

Work on the new 10-mile dual carriageway started in late 2023, linking the A1/A421 Black Cat roundabout with the A428 Caxton Gibbet roundabout.

The aim is to upgrade both existing roundabouts into modern, free-flowing junctions. A new junction will also be added at Cambridge Road, improving access to St Neots and its train station.

This new dual carriageway will replace the final stretch of single carriageway on the strategic road network between the M1 at Milton Keynes and the east coast ports of Harwich and Felixstowe.