A12 junction 25 Marks Tey to junction 26 Stanway concrete road reconstruction
We're rebuilding the A12 between junction 25 Marks Tey and junction 26 Stanway. This will improve the safety, create a smoother quieter journey, and extend the life of the road to make it fit for the future.
Latest updates
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24 September 2024
September and October planned road closures
Now that the roadworks and temporary speed limit on the southbound carriageway have been removed, we're focusing on completing the final surface layer on the northbound carriageway.
We'll do this under a final phase of overnight road closures to allow us to complete the project.
This will mean that the reconstruction of the A12 between Marks Tey (Junction 25) and Stanway (Junction 26) will now be completed by mid-October.
The current road layer (known as a ‘binder course’ which traffic has been travelling on until completion of the final surfacing), has been in place longer than anticipated.
It needs some remedial work before we can apply a final top layer and complete the A12 reconstruction project to our high standards.
The prolonged exposure of the binder course is a knock-on effect of the challenges we’ve faced due to wet weather and unexpected poor ground conditions throughout the reconstruction project.
We apply the final road surface layer at the very end of the project to ensure it isn’t damaged during the construction phase. This also maximises the lifespan of the road surface and ensures a better quality finish.
Planned closures
A12 northbound between junction 25 Marks Tey and junction 26 Stanway - 23 September to 6 October 2024
We are now moving to:
- final surfacing and finishing work
- removing cones and traffic barriers in the roadworks.
To do this work, we've planned overnight road closures (8pm and 6am ) each night.
Diversion
Traffic will be diverted to:
- exit the A12 via the junction 25 northbound exit slip road at Marks Tey
- follow the signed diversion route along B1408 (London Road) to Stanway
- re-join the A12 northbound via the Junction 26 northbound entry slip road.
As laying the final surfacing is a weather-sensitive activity, these dates could change at short notice.
You can check the latest information on our daily closures page or find live travel information on our Traffic England site. Our travel alerts give details of live incidents on our network.
We apologise for the delay to completing our work. We are working hard to complete this project. Thank you for your continued patience.
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18 September 2024
A12 southbound roadworks during September 2024
We apologise for the late re-opening of the A12 southbound between junction 26 Stanway and 25 Marks Tey on 17 September morning.
This was due to delays laying the new road surface material. In turn, this delayed us applying road marking and fixing road studs (cat's eyes).
We had to keep the road closed until we had solved the problems and confirmed it was safe for traffic.
We and our contractor are investigating the causes to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
We're working hard to finish this project. Thank you for your continued patience while we complete our work.
Closures
We'll need the following overnight (8pm to 6am each night) closures for:
- resurfacing
- removing traffic barriers and cones
- survey work
18 to 20 September
A12 southbound between junction 26 Stanway and junction 25 Marks Tey
Diversion
Southbound traffic will be diverted:
- to exit the A12 at Junction 26 Stanway
- travel along the A1124, B1408 (London Road)
- re-join the A12 at Junction 25 Marks Tey southbound entry slip road.
19 and 20 September
A12 northbound between junction 25 northbound exit slip road and junction 25 entry slip road
Diversion
Northbound traffic will be diverted:
- to exit the A12 at junction 25 Marks Tey northbound exit slip road
- travel up and over the junction
- re-join the A12 northbound via the junction 25 northbound entry slip road.
21 and 22 September
A12 southbound between junction 29 and junction 25 Marks Tey
Diversion
Southbound traffic will be diverted:
- to exit at Junction 29
- travel along the A1232 Ipswich Road, A133 (Cowdray Avenue) and B1408 (London Road)
- re-join the A12 at Junction 25 Marks Tey southbound entry slip road
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24 July 2024
Scheme makes good progress
Our work to reconstruct the A12 junction 25 exit slip road was finished on schedule, and the slip road is now open for traffic.
We've also continued to make great progress on rebuilding the main A12 carriageway between junction 25 and 26. We’ll need to have a final phase of weekend road closures during July and August so that we can safely complete our work to rebuild this stretch of the A12 road. During these road closures, a diversion will be in place.
To work safely, we'll need to close the motorway and slip roads at various locations. Please remember that closure details can change at short notice. For the most up-to-date information on dates, times and locations, check our daily closures page.
If you have any queries about this work, please contact us by email: info@nationalhighways.co.uk or call 0300 123 5000.
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12 July 2024
Work on schedule for summer completion
Our weekend works on the A12 is progressing well, and we're on schedule for completion later in the summer.
In addition to the current closure of the junction 25 southbound exit slip road, we also have some mid-week overnight road closures coming up on the northbound carriageway.
These road closures are necessary to conduct surveys, inspections and repair defects ahead of the final surfacing in the coming months.
To work safely, we'll need to close the motorway and slip roads at various locations. Please remember that closure details can change at short notice. For the most up-to-date information on dates, times and locations, check our daily closures page.
If you have any queries about this work, please contact us by email: info@nationalhighways.co.uk or call 0300 123 5000.
Diversion for junction 25 closure
All A12 southbound traffic will be diverted up and over junction 25, exiting the southbound carriageway via the southbound exit slip road, and re-joining the A12 southbound the other side of the junction via the junction 25 southbound entry slip road.
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09 December 2023
Change of open for traffic date
Since starting construction we’ve encountered a number of unexpected challenges which have impacted our timelines. As a result of this, we’ll need to continue our work on the A12 between junction 25 Marks Tey and junction 26 Stanway into summer 2024.
These challenges include adverse weather conditions, including the wettest March on record, and the discovery of poor ground conditions under the northbound carriageway.
Before we started construction, we carried out extensive industry standard surveys. Unfortunately, while our surveys were completed to current standards and using the correct methods, they can only give us an indication of the ground condition in the specific areas tested, rather than every inch of the road. This means that it was only when we began digging up the northbound carriageway that we uncovered these issues, and it became clear that additional work was required to strengthen the foundations of the road.
We know this will be frustrating news and we’re sorry for the inconvenience these delays may cause to your journey. It’s important however that our work is carried out to the highest specification now to minimise long term disruption for road users in the future.
Please be assured that we’re working hard to complete construction as quickly as possible. By building in additional time to account for these issues and the risk of further impact from anticipated poor weather conditions over the winter, we hope that this update provides transparency so you’re able to plan ahead should our work continue past spring 2024 as previously expected.
We’d like to thank you for your continued patience while we carry out this important work.
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24 November 2023
Carriageway surface
Further to our recent notification that the northbound reconstruction is complete, we’d like to confirm that a final asphalt surface will be laid towards the end of the project, to provide a smooth, consistent surface across all lanes northbound and southbound. This will mean that the surface is brand new when all of the traffic management is removed. Until then, traffic will continue to drive on the temporary surface, known as the ‘binder course’, which will eventually form the under layer of the road when the final surfacing is added.
During this time, road users may notice some bumps or ridges, but rest assured that these will be eliminated once the final surface is laid, and any safety issues such as potholes will continue to be repaired until then.
Project information
We'll be reconstructing the A12 between Marks Tey and Stanway (between junctions 25 and 26) with work starting on 17 October 2022. Reconstruction will involve completely removing the concrete road surface and some of the foundations, before rebuilding the road and resurfacing it with asphalt.
The East region has the highest concentration of concrete roads on our road network, including the A14, A12, A120, A11 and M11.
Around half of the old-style concrete roads will either have repairs or will be replaced during the next five years.
We’ll be using innovative new ways of working and new technology to provide a modern road that will last for decades to come. This will also make it easier and quicker for us to carry out repairs in the future.
Find out more about our nationwide Concrete Roads work.
How the scheme will work
We started our work to reconstruct the road in Autumn 2022, and we expect to finish by late 2023/early 2024, subject to weather conditions.
We are using a ‘contraflow’ system to keep everyone safe and the road open whilst we’re working. A contraflow is when the road is shut in one direction and traffic is then moved over to drive on the other side of the road to share the remaining road space. This provides us with a clear working area, which means we can work more quickly and safely.
By using a contraflow, we’ll be able to keep two lanes of traffic in each direction whilst we do our work. Full road closures are only be needed when we set up and take down our roadworks.
We'll be doing the work in a few phases:
Phase one: will start at junction 25 northbound and head up to junction 26. Our construction workers will be in lanes one and two, with traffic in a contraflow.
Phase two: junction 25 northbound heading up to junction 26. Our construction workers will be in lanes two and three with traffic in a contraflow.
Phase three: junction 26 southbound heading to junction 25. Our construction workers will be in lanes one and two with traffic in a contraflow.
Phase four: junction 26 southbound heading to junction 25. Our construction workers will be in lanes two and three.
Due to the nature of the work, some noise and light disturbance is expected, but we’ll aim to keep this to a minimum. Thank you for your patience whilst we do this important road work.
The surface of concrete roads that were designed between the 1950s and 1970s have an average life span of 50 years. Their surfaces are now reaching the stage where they will need to be repaired or replaced for safety reasons, and to help them be less noisy and better to drive on.
In late 2020, we made repairs to the A12 road surface between junction 22 and junction 24 in both directions. During early 2021, we resurfaced the A12 southbound main carriageway between junctions 27 to 26 and also repaired the road surface at the slip roads at junction 27. And in late 2021, we completed repairs to the A12 between junctions 15 and 19.
This video explains the process we go through to rebuild concrete roads:
There is more reconstruction, resurfacing and other maintenance work scheduled for 2023 on other stretches of this road.
When complete, the scheme will:
- improve safety and provide a smoother rider for road users
- reduce noise levels
- create a new modern road with a 40 to 50-year lifespan that’ll be easier and quicker for us to repair in future
We’ve set up a free SMS alerts service to warn road users, via text message, of any incidents that occur within our roadworks on the A12 during peak travel times.
You can sign up for this service by sending your mobile number to: ConcreteRoadsEssex@nationalhighways.co.uk. Please reference the ‘A12 Marks Tey to Stanway SMS service’ in the subject line of your email, so it's clear which scheme updates you'd like to register for.
Please note that you can opt out at any time by contacting us at the same email address.
Documents
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Traffic information
Information about scheduled roadworks and events on our motorways and major roads.X
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