Improving the A120

We believe the A120 is not fit for purpose and is long overdue an upgrade. We are not alone either, as more than four out of five people who responded to our 2017 consultation agreed.

That is why we have developed plans for a newly improved route which would create a modern dual carriageway link connecting Braintree and the A12.

This is vital as the A120 is a key driver for the local and national economy. Commuters, freight, residents and businesses suffer daily lengthy delays on this single-carriageway road which cost the country millions of pounds every year.

In June 2018, following our consultation we announced our favoured route for the new road as Route D. We predicted that every £1 million spent on the new route will deliver £4.5 million in benefits.

Scheme Benefits

The benefits of upgrading the A120 are significant:

• Improving road safety: The scheme is expected to result in a significant reduction in collisions in this area, including on the existing A120 and the local roads
• Improving user satisfaction: The scheme would reduce delays due to congestion, make journey times more reliable and increase the overall transport capacity of the A120 corridor.
• Supporting the smooth flow of traffic: The scheme will make journey times more reliable by reducing delays from congestion, reducing the number of collisions and improving the resilience of road network.
• Encouraging economic growth: The scheme is expected to reduce travel delays, underpin new housing and economic growth, and enable businesses to flourish.
• Delivering better environmental outcomes: The scheme should give help reduce road noise.
• Helping cyclists, walkers, and other vulnerable road users: Opportunities for providing new and better road crossings are being considered.
• Achieving efficiency: The proposed routes would mainly be constructed away from the current A120 road, which helps to make construction schedules more reliable, as less road closures and roadworks are needed to complete the new road. 
• Keeping the road network in good condition: A new dual carriageway would replace around 9 miles (15km) of the A120 single carriageway which currently needs significant maintenance on its road surface.

Consultation

A public consultation on five proposed route alignment options was held in 2017.  During the consultation 11 events were held and attended by more than 3,000 people.

We also received 2,795 consultation responses.

High Level Results:

• 82% of respondents favoured a complete upgrade and a further 10% felt that some changes were required to meet current and future demand
• Overall, 80% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the A120 should be upgraded to a dual carriageway
• Respondents were asked to rank the five options presented from 1 to 5, with 1 being the first preference and 5 being the last. Option C received the most responses as first preference when compared across options with 29%, closely followed by option E with 27% and then option A (17%), option D (14%) and option B (13%)
• When first and second preferences were added together, option C was still the most preferred with 25%, followed even more closely by option E with 24%, options D and B with 20% and option A least preferred with 11%
• Option A was the least popular option and received the highest number of ‘5’ rankings (62%), where respondents provided ‘5’ rankings.

Next Steps

In March 2020, the government announced details of the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) covering April 2020 to March 2025. The A120 Braintree to A12 was one of the ‘pipeline projects’ announced that would undergo further analysis and design work for consideration for potential future investment.

The proposals for improving this stretch of road, initially developed by Essex County Council (ECC), were transferred to National Highways in 2020. Since the transfer, National Highways has been validating and updating the work completed by ECC.

This work has now concluded and has been passed to government for consideration.

­­No decision has been made on the scheme and any updates will be set out by National Highways.