Public exhibition in Witham on plans to widen A12 in Essex to three lanes
An eight-week consultation is running until mid-August
A public exhibition is taking place in Witham today (8 July), allowing people to have their say on plans to widen the A12 in Essex to three lanes.
Visitors will also be able to speak with members of the team while they are at the exhibition at Rivenhall Hotel, which is running from 2pm to 8pm.
A second public exhibition is happening at Spring Lodge Community Centre in Witham on Saturday (10 July) from 12pm to 5pm.
Six exhibitions will be held in total, subject to Government COVID-19 guidelines.
It comes as an eight-week consultation is underway, which ends on 16 August.
Highways England announced its preferred option for adding an extra lane to the 15 miles of the A12 between Chelmsford and Marks Tey in 2019 and 2020 as part of a billion-pound upgrade of the road.
It was based on factors such as environmental impact, journey times, complexity, affordability, and feedback from people and public authorities.
Proposed changes to this stretch of the A12 will include:
-Improvements to junctions 19 and 25
-Widening the dual carriageway from two to three lanes in each direction from Hatfield Peverel to Marks Tey
-Removal of existing junctions 20a, 20b and 23
-Construction of new junctions 21, 22 and 24 providing access to the A12 in both directions
-Creation of two bypasses, one between junctions 22 and 23 and another between junctions 24 and junction 25
-New and improved existing walking, cycling and horse-riding routes.
Once complete by the end of 2028, the improved A12 will reportedly reduce journey times by up to 12 minutes for the 90,000 drivers who use it daily.
Changes based on earlier feedback include moving the road further away from the Rivenhall Long Mortuary Enclosure scheduled monument, improving slip roads, upgrading junctions, and reducing local traffic by diverting through traffic onto the new road.
Work is set to start in 2023.
People can take part in the consultation online, by e-mailing A12chelmsfordA120wide@highwaysengland.co.uk , or by completing one of the forms available at the public events and collection points.
Following the consultation, plans for the new road will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in Spring 2022.
Once a Development Consent Order is issued by late 2023, construction will begin.
There is more information about the plans here.