Parts of A421 near Bedford could reopen 'towards the end of next week' - but repairs will be needed

After a month of rainfall fell in under 48 hours, the A421 was closed in both directions between the A6 at Bedford - M1 junction 13, near Brogborough/Marston Moretaine on Sunday, September 22.

Despite pumping away more than 70 million litres of floodwater – the equivalent needed to fill 28 Olympic-sized swimming pools – there is remaining water to remove following significant and persistent rainfall during the last two weeks.

The flooding of a local pumping station significantly contributed to the issue.

Efforts to clear the floodwater have been ongoing since with a fleet of 25 tankers working around the clock to remove water from the carriageway. The last of three vehicles – which had been abandoned as the floodwaters rose – have now been recovered.

Martin Fellows, Regional Director for National Highways in the East of England, said: “We have carried out early testing so we can have all the arrangements in place to undertake any work as soon as the remaining floodwater has been removed. We expect that to be early next week and then we will be working around the clock to carry out repairs and get the road reopened as soon as it is safe to do so.

“It may be possible to open some elements of the road towards the end of next week – such as one lane in each direction – but we will only do that when we are certain it’s safe.

“I understand the disruption this has caused to local people and those that rely on this section of road, and I would like to extend my appreciation for their continued patience and support. I’d also like to thank our local partners in Bedfordshire for their ongoing help and collaboration.

“What we have encountered here has been truly unprecedented in terms of the record rainfall over a sustained period and its impact has been like nothing I have seen in my working life.

“The progress we have made is very clear as we have removed more than 300 metres of floodwater – which is more than three times the length of the pitch at Wembley – but given the repairs that will be necessary to the road surface, I expect our work here will continue for a further week.”

Specialist high volume pumps have been working at the site since the end of last week and around 11 million litres of floodwater is now being removed each day.

National Highways continues to work with partners in the Bedfordshire Local Resilience Forum (BLRF), which includes the Environment Agency, to ensure that floodwater is dispersed in a responsible manner that does not add to the already saturated ground.