The major upgrades planned for the A12, A120 and A131

Rush hour journeys regularly incur delays and politicians at every level of Government have stated the major A roads are desperately in need of upgrades.

And plans are in place to address the traffic problems, with multi-million pound schemes lined up for the A120 and A12.

Smaller projects are also in the pipeline, including plans for new slip roads at Galleys Corner and improvements along the A131.

So here is everything you need to know about the schemes which will (hopefully) bring some much needed relief to our roads.

The new A120

The A120 west between Marks Tey and Braintree is notorious for delays and has been described by County Hall as 'not fit for purpose'

This is largely because the stretch of road is a single carriageway in both directions and is regularly filled with queuing traffic.

But this, in theory, will all change when the new A120 is built.

Essex County Council plans to redirect the road at Galleys Corner and provide two lanes in both directions down to a new super junction on the A12 at Kelvedon.

The route will, according to experts, reduce average journey times by 15 minutes, offer taxpayers the best value for money and bring £2.2 billion extra to the economy.

They also say it has the least impact on the environment, but critics argue otherwise and have raised concerns about steamrollering through one of the more rural parts of the Braintree district.

Dualing the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey is expected to cost between £475m and £825m.

A12 widening scheme

The long-awaited widening of the A12 between Marks Tey and Chelmsford is progressing, although perhaps not quite at the rate motorists want.

Highways England is firming up its plans to make the road three lanes in both directions between junction 19 at Boreham to junction 23 at Kelvedon.

The proposals would see much of the route remain the same, aside from junction 22 at Witham which would be moved south of Rivenhall End.

Junctions 20A and 20B would also be completely removed under the plans.

Plans for the A12 between Kelvedon and Marks Tey aren't quite as clear at this stage, with Highways England yet to nail down a decision on how to reroute the road.

This is primarily because it will wait until a final decision is made on the garden communities scheme, which would see 24,000 homes built around Marks Tey.

A consultation is underway into four possible options, which would see the A12 moved south and two options would also see an entire new junction built at junction 25, Marks Tey.

Highways England says the wider A12 will save daily commuters an hour of travelling time per week.

The overall cost of the scheme is not known, but Highways England is aiming to complete work by 2027/ 2028.

Millennium Way slip roads

Plans to install slip roads on both sides of the carriageway on the A120 in Braintree are edging ever nearer.

Essex Highways is planning on putting the new roads in to link the road with Millennium Way.

This will create a more direct link between Braintree Village and the A120.

It is also hoped it will reduce queues and delays at Galleys Corner roundabout.

The plans would see traffic-lights installed along Millennium Way to help traffic flow and extra lanes would also be provided.

A planning application for the scheme was submitted in May last year and Essex County Council is expected to make a decision later this year.

Funding for more than £10m has been secured and experts estimate the scheme would take 18 months to complete, meaning it could be finished before the end of 2021.

Work would mainly take place in the daytime but Essex Highways say disruption would be kept to a minimum.

A131 between Braintree and Sudbury

Part of a wider scheme to improve the main A roads between Chelmsford and Sudbury, the plans have been split into two components.

Work on upgrading the A130 and A131 between Chelmsford and Braintree has been taking place for several years now.

The final stage of the scheme is underway at Sheepcotes Roundabout, with work due to be complete later this year.

Attention will then turn to the A131 between Braintree and Sudbury, with a number of improvements planned.

Among them is an upgrade to both the Marks Farm roundabout and Broad Road roundabout.

Changes will also be made to the junction at High Garrett, and the introduction of new signage at Plaistow Green and Bulmer Tye are also in the pipeline.

It is not known when work will start however after Essex County Council placed the scheme on pause in April last year.

Bosses said they were unable to stump up their share of the overall cost of the £3.6million project.

It remains unclear when the funding gap will be resolved.