Proposals for a new multi-million pound widening project on the A12 go on show today.

The project, which will see the widening of the A12 between junction 19 (Boreham interchange) and junction 25 (Marks Tey interchange) in Essex, will reduce congestion, improve safety and boost the economy. It is part of the Government’s record £15 billion investment in England’s motorways and major A roads.

A Highways England consultation seeking public views on the proposals starts today and will run until Friday, March 3.

Four options were shortlisted to be put forward to consultation:

  • Option 1 – widening the existing A12 corridor (the online option)
  • Option 2 – widening the existing A12 corridor between junctions 19 to 22 and 23 to 24 and building two new bypasses between junctions 22 and 23 (Rivenhall) and between junctions 24 and 25 (Marks Tey).
  • Option 3 – a variation of option 2 with only one new bypass between junctions 22 and 23 (Rivenhall).
  • Option 4 – a variation of option 2 with only one new bypass between junctions 24 and 25 (Marks Tey).

Highways England programme leader Richard Hofton said:

“Deciding how best to plan and carry out improvements along the A12 is vitally important and we’ve been working hard to identify a range of possible solutions to take forward.

“There are important choices to be made and we are keen to get as many views as we can, so I encourage anyone who would like to find out more to check out the consultation materials online or come and see us at one of our public exhibitions.”

People are invited to attend one of the seven public exhibitions, held at venues along the A12 route between Chelmsford and Colchester, to find out more and take part. A consultation into plans for proposed improvements on the A120, which is being organised by Essex County Council is also being run at the same time and some of the events will be run jointly.

All responses to the A12 consultation will help Highways England take the best possible improvements forward.

For more information about our proposals and the public exhibitions, and to provide your views, visit www.highways.gov.uk/A12chelmsfordA120widening