M11 Junction 8 Improvements

The J8 Scheme

The area around Junction 8 of the M11 suffered from increasing congestion and lacked capacity at peak times. Planned developments in the north of Bishop’s Stortford and local growth planned in East Herts and Uttlesford mean an increasing amount of traffic will be using the junctions in the years ahead as London Stansted Airport continues to grow and this needed to be considered.

From 2015, we began investigating improvements to the A120 and slip road access to Junction 8 of the M11. Our studies showed that the best short- to medium-term solution would be to improve off-slip lane capacity onto Junction 8 of the M11 with a widened A120 signalised junction, to help meet future network demand.

Following a successful bid in 2017 for the Department for Transport’s National Productivity Investment Fund, we moved forward with our plans to improve Junction 8 of the M11 and A120 West.

Now complete, the scheme has:

Improved access between the M11 and A120 with London Stansted Airport, Bishop's Stortford, Birchanger Services and Takeley
Reduced congestion and improved capacity on the M11 Junction 8 exit slips and the A120
Supported future plans for housing, employment and business developments

John Sisk & Son was appointed as contractor for the scheme in late 2021 with the main works getting underway in early 2022. The works completed in July 2024.

If you have questions about the scheme, please contact Essex County Council at m11J8@essexhighways.org.

What was done?

South-west of M11 Junction 8

Addition of an additional approach lane from the M11 Junction 8 northbound exit slip onto the A120, with dedicated access into Birchanger Green Services, to increase capacity and reduce queuing
Installation of upgraded traffic signals to better manage traffic and reduce queuing on the slip road

North-east of M11 Junction 8

Addition of an additional approach lane on the M11 Southbound slip road to separate traffic to Stansted Airport, the A120, Takeley, motorway services, and Bishop’s Stortford
Upgraded traffic signals and overhead signage to improve traffic movement

West of M11 Junction 8 / Junction of A120 with A1250 (Dunmow Road)

Replaced the existing A120/A1250 (Dunmow Road) roundabout with a signalised junction to address congestion issues and meet forecast traffic demand up to 2036.
Widened the A120 eastbound and westbound to three lanes on the approach to the new junction with the A1250 and introduced a dedicated lane westbound for A1250 traffic as well as a new right-turn lane for traffic for Birchanger Lane.
Realigned Birchanger Lane at the new A120 junction within the highway boundary and at a safe staggered distance between the A1250.
The revised highways layout has enabled the full range of traffic movements in and out of Birchanger village to be retained as the realignment of Birchanger Lane allows direct traffic towards A1250 Bishop’s Stortford and the A120 west with a single traffic signal phase for all movements.
Created a new footway to Birchanger village with on-road cycleway to improve facilities for people who walk and cycle. This has provided improved connections to the National Cycle Network (NCN).
Installed toucan crossings to connect both sides of the A120 to allow people who walk and cycle to pass more safely between Birchanger Lane and the A1250 Dunmow Road.
To improve safety, the crossing points on the Junction 8 slip roads were removed. Non-motorised users can instead use the upgraded bridleway overbridge to the north and underpass to the south of Junction 8.
Installed a new crossing for pedestrians to make access to bus stops safer on A1250 Dunmow Road.

Documents

Milestones for project completion - PDF(306.7KB)

M11 J8 Improvement Scheme Final Plan - PDF(3.0MB)

M11 Junction 8 Improvement Scheme proposal map - PDF(3.0MB)

M11 J8 A120 General Layout - PDF(163.6KB)

M11 Junction 8 Project Update - 17.10.22 - PDF(0.6MB)

M11 Junction 8 Project Update - 14.02.23 - PDF(1.1MB)