Motorists in Essex are facing August Bank Holiday delays after National Highways announced the A12 roadworks will now not be completed until September.

The latest timetable of roadworks released by National Highways shows there will be carriageway closures running until at least Friday 6 September. A full closure will take place for an entire weekend this month, but National Highways has not yet revealed a date, says the Daily Gazette.

The organisation had previously aimed to complete the Marks Tey and Stanway resurfacing works on the A12 in time for the August bank holiday on August 26.

The latest delay will bring more frustration for drivers who have had to suffer long delays and frequent road closures for nearly two years since the project started in October 2022. It was then revealed the scheme has run £11million over its original £33million budget and was only half-finished in March.

A new release from National Highways says that “great progress” has been made in recent months, involving the rebuilding of the southbound exit slip road at junction 25.

The next five weeks of work will involve installing a safety barrier, refurbishing filter drains, and laying road markings on the southbound carriageway, it says.

The next set of southbound road closures will run from Wednesday until Thursday, August 23, with the A12 junction 25 entry and exit slip roads closing from 8pm until 6am.

Traffic will be diverted at Junction 26 Stanway and travel through London Road, before re-joining the A12 Junction 25 at the Marks Tey slip road.

A set of northbound carriageway closures will follow, starting on Monday, August 26 and run until Friday, September 6 between the hours of 8pm and 6am.

The northbound traffic diversion will direct drivers off the A12 via the Junction 25 northbound exit slip road at Marks Tey.

(Pic – Paul Hutton)