A SECTION of the A130 will be extended to three lanes in each direction after the number of vehicles using it reached 50,000 per day.

Construction work will take place next summer to create the new lanes between Rettendon and Howe Green.

Essex County Council will pay the private firm responsible for the road an extra £2.4million once the work is complete.

The A130, linking the Fairglen Interchange of the A127 with the A12 in Chelmsford, opened in two phases in 2002 and 2003.

It was the first public road in the country to be built using private finance, after Essex County Council agreed a 30-year contract with CountyRoute.

The northern section, between Rettendon and Howe Green, was built with three lanes, but only two lanes have ever been used, with the third acting as a hard shoulder.

The agreement between the council and CountyRoute stated the company had the right to bring the third lane into use once 50,000 vehicles per day used the road for two consecutive months.

After this landmark was reached in June and July, CountyRoute served notice of its intention to begin building work.

The council has given the contractor four months to complete the work, starting on May 1 next year.

A council report said: “This will allow CountyRoute more time to plan the works and carry them out in the summer when traffic volumes are lower.

“The third lane would then open at the end of summer 2016.”

The report stated the expansion was not necessary, since other two-lane roads in the county are busier than 50,000 vehicles per day.

But the council hopes the work will help secure Government funding for projects in Essex such as the new Lower Thames Crossing and improvements to the A12.

After the work is done, the council will pay CountyRoute an extra £2.4million over the remaining 15 years of their contract for maintaining the road.

Essex County Council will take back responsibility for the A130 once the contract ends in January 2030.

Rodney Bass, councillor responsible for highways, said: “The upgrade to three lanes is ahead of the original schedule and is in response to an earlier than expected increase in traffic volume.

“Strengthening one of this county’s most strategic routes, as well as making improvements at its key interchanges, is a high priority.

"We will also be discussing with Highways England how improvements to the A12 might be made concurrently to improve the A130 interchange at Howe Green.

“Meanwhile, traffic flow will be improved at Rettendon to create a more effective link with the A132, an important connection with Wickford and then on to Basildon.”