National Highways Road Closures Update
Full weekend road closure, 6am on 17 August to 8pm on 18 August 2024
Despite challenging wet weather conditions over the winter months and earlier in the summer, we have been working extremely hard to keep work on schedule and complete reconstruction of the old concrete road surface of the A12 between Marks Tey and Stanway.
Due to these efforts, we are in a position to bring our planned weekend of working forward by two weeks to this coming weekend, instead of the end of August as originally scheduled.
This means that this weekend, 17 and 18 August 2024, we will be diverting both lanes of the A12 southbound between the junction 25 exit slip road and junction 25 entry slip road at Marks Tey. This full weekend closure will allow us to complete our work in hard-to-reach areas of the carriageway.
Unlike previous weekends, this closure will require all southbound traffic to be diverted up and over junction 25 by exiting the A12 via the junction 25 southbound exit slip road and rejoining the A12 via the junction 25 southbound entry slip road. This full diversion will be in place between 6am on Saturday 17 August until 8pm on Sunday 18 August 2024.
During this time, the southbound entry slip road at junction 26 will also be closed to help manage traffic build up in the area. Additional traffic signals will also be in place at both Prince of Wales roundabout and Stane Retail Park to help assist with traffic movement.
Please note: the A12 will be closed southbound between junction 26 Stanway and junction 25 Marks Tey each Friday and Sunday evening to allow for the weekend roadworks to be safely installed and uninstalled.
Once the weekend work is done, we will be having overnight closures to allow us to continue work to complete this scheme. Further details on other closures in the coming weeks is further down in this information.
Diversion routes
During this time, the diversion route below will be in place:
• Southbound traffic will be diverted off the A12 at junction 25 Marks Tey via the southbound exit slip road. Customers wishing to continue travelling southbound along the A12, will be diverted up and over the junction, rejoining the A12 via the junction 25 southbound entry slip road.
Please note: Customers travelling to Stanstead Airport will be able to access the A120 from junction 25 as normal.
If you are travelling from further afield, please use alternative routes to avoid our closure.
If you do need to travel in the area, please leave a lot of extra time for your journey.
We know there’s never a good time to divert a busy road like the A12 and understand closures can cause disruption to journeys, for which we apologise.
We carefully plan all of our closures to limit disruption, but sometimes it is not possible to undertake the work that is needed without a closure. This essential work needs to be done for us to complete the final areas of reconstruction work within the carriageway, and allow us to open for traffic at the end of the summer as planned.
During this weekend’s full weekend road closure, we urge customers to:
• Plan ahead
• Avoid unnecessary travel
• Follow the diversion routes and signage in place and not sat nav’s
• Expect delays and allow more time for your journey when travelling in the area.
We understand the challenges customers face when driving through roadworks and we thank you for your continued patience while we complete this important work.
Parking
The parking suspension on London Road will be extended to include Sunday 18 August. Customers wishing to access businesses on London Road will need to park in designated parking areas.
Future road closures
We’ll need to have a final phase of weekend road closures during August and early September so that we can safely complete our work to rebuild this stretch of the A12 road, as well as some overnight closures of both the northbound and southbound carriageways while we carry out final surfacing and finishing work.
During these road closures, diversions will be in place, so please check the table below before starting your journey. Thank you for your patience during these roadworks.
The latest list of our planned road closures is below:
Dates of closure
Closure details
Diversion Route
Overnight closures from J26 to J25 on A12 southbound
12 – 16 August 2024
Between 8pm and 6am each night
A12 closed southbound overnight between junction 26 Stanway and junction 25 Marks Tey for final surfacing and finishing work.
During this time, traffic will be diverted to exit at Junction 26 Stanway and travel long the A1124, B1408 (London Road) and re-join the A12 at Junction 25 Marks Tey southbound entry slip road.
Southbound traffic will be diverted to exit at Junction 26 Stanway and travel along the A1124, B1408 (London Road) and re-join the A12 at Junction 25 Marks Tey southbound entry slip road.
Weekend work
16 – 19 August 2024
Full closure of the A12 southbound between J25 exit slip road and J25 entry slip road from 6am Saturday until 8pm Sunday
Full closure of the A12 carriageway between junction 25 southbound exit slip road, and junction 25 entry slip road.
Please note: the A12 will be closed southbound between junction 26 Stanway and junction 25 Marks Tey each Friday and Sunday evening to allow for the traffic management for the weekend works to be safely installed and uninstalled. During this time, traffic will be diverted to exit at Junction 26 Stanway and travel long the A1124, B1408 (London Road) and re-join the A12 at Junction 25 Marks Tey southbound entry slip road.
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.
During this time, the southbound entry slip road at junction 26 will also be closed to help manage traffic build up in the area. Additional traffic signals will be in place at both Prince of Wales roundabout and Stane Retail Park to help assist with traffic movement.
Overnight closures from J26 to J25 on A12 southbound
19 – 22 August 2024
Between 8pm and 6am each night
A12 closed southbound overnight between junction 26 Stanway and junction 25 Marks Tey for final surfacing and finishing work.
During this time, traffic will be diverted to exit at Junction 26 Stanway and travel long the A1124, B1408 (London Road) and re-join the A12 at Junction 25 Marks Tey southbound entry slip road.
Southbound traffic will be diverted to exit at Junction 26 Stanway and travel along the A1124, B1408 (London Road) and re-join the A12 at Junction 25 Marks Tey southbound entry slip road.
Bank Holiday Weekend 23 – 25 August 2024
No planned closures
Overnight closures from J25 to J26 on A12 northbound
26 – 31 August 2024
Between 8pm and 6am each night
A12 closed northbound overnight between junction 25 Marks Tey and junction 26 Stanway for final surfacing and finishing work.
During this time, traffic will be diverted to exit at Junction 25 Marks Tey and travel along the B1408 (London Road), A1124, and re-join the A12 northbound at Junction 26 Stanway northbound entry slip road.
Northbound traffic will be diverted to exit the A12 via the junction 25 northbound exit slip road at Marks Tey and follow the signed diversion route along B1408 (London Road) to Stanway, re-joining the A12 northbound via the Junction 26 northbound entry slip road.
Weekend work
31 August – 2 Sept 2024
(contingency, if needed)
Full closure of the A12 southbound between J25 exit slip road and J25 entry slip road from 6am Saturday until 8pm Sunday
Full closure of the A12 carriageway between junction 25 southbound exit slip road and junction 25 entry slip road.
Please note: the A12 will be closed southbound between junction 26 Stanway and junction 25 Marks Tey each Friday and Sunday evening to allow for the traffic management for the weekend works to be safely installed and uninstalled. During this time, traffic will be diverted to exit at Junction 26 Stanway and travel long the A1124, B1408 (London Road) and re-join the A12 at Junction 25 Marks Tey southbound entry slip road.
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.
During this time, the southbound entry slip road at junction 26 will also be closed to help manage traffic build up in the area. Additional traffic signals will be in place at both Prince of Wales roundabout and Stane Retail Park to help assist with traffic movement.
Overnight closures from J25 to J26 on A12 northbound
2 – 6 September 2024
Between 8pm and 6am each night
A12 closed northbound overnight between junction 25 Marks Tey and junction 26 Stanway for final surfacing and finishing work.
During this time, traffic will be diverted to exit at Junction 25 Marks Tey and travel along the B1408 (London Road), A1124, and re-join the A12 northbound at Junction 26 Stanway northbound entry slip road.
Northbound traffic will be diverted to exit the A12 via the junction 25 northbound exit slip road at Marks Tey and follow the signed diversion route along B1408 (London Road) to Stanway, re-joining the A12 northbound via the Junction 26 northbound entry slip road.
The dates listed above will be subject to factors including weather and work progress.