B562

The B562 is a short out-of-zone road in Bedford with a complicated history.

The B562 in 1923

The route began life as a Class II Bedford southern bypass, starting in Kempston on the B561 and heading east to Cardington Cross, seemingly multiplexing with as many other roads as possible (B557, A418, A6, and A600) in under four miles.

In 1935 it was extended west along almost all of the B561 to reach the A428 in Bromham, thereby emphasising its role as a bypass. At aound the same time it also gained a spur along Eastcotts Road by taking over the whole of the former B659.

Perhaps to underline its importance, the entire length of the B562 – except for the spur – was upgraded to Class I status in the 1960s, becoming the A5134. This left only the current course of the B562, explaining why the road is out-of-zone. In recent years the western half of the A5134 has been downgraded again. The part through Kempston is numbered B560 but most is now unclassified. The original eastern end of the B562, at Cardington Cross, has been destroyed by the building of the new junction of that name on the A421 Bedford bypass.

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