FRESH details of a new £70 million dual-carriageway being built as part of the creation of a 9,000 home new town have been set out in a new report.

Essex County Council has submitted a scoping opinion request for the link road, which will connect the A120 at Elmstead Market and the A133 in Colchester.

The road, for which funding has been secured from the Government, is being built in conjunction with the creation of a 9,000 home garden community between Greenstead and Wivenhoe.

Following public consultation earlier this year, a preferred option has now been chosen and County Hall is looking into the environmental impact of the scheme.

The chosen route will leave the A133 via a roundabout east of the University of Essex, joining the A120 via a junction east of Strawberry Grove.

Read more >>> Consultation opens on rapid transit and A120/A133 link road plans

A report said: “As well as providing an essential part of the future garden community growth strategy, the proposed scheme also aims to improve connectivity, ease congestion within the wider Colchester area and future-proof the capacity of both the A133 and A120.

“As part of the proposed scheme there is to be a new grade-separated dumbbell type junction on the A120, with new accesses to an existing petrol station and Colchester Waste Transfer Station.”

The speed limit for the new dual-carriageway will be 50 miles an hour and an underpass is set to be created for the planned rapid transit system, which will link the new town with Colchester.

Read more >>> Colchester Council responds to link road and RTS consultation

The road will be about 2.4km long, with as many as 1,400 vehicles expected to use it during peak periods by 2033.

A shared footway and cycleway along the western side, separated from the carriageway by an embankment, will be created.

A new “sustainable transport base” will be created as part of plans to bring a rapid transit system to Colchester.

The facility, dubbed a Park and Choose site, will be located near Essex Unversity, either north east of the new A133/ A120 link road near where it meets the A120, or south east of the link road next to the A133.

Groundworks began this month with a planning application set to be submitted before the end of the year.

Construction will take place from spring 2022 to spring 2024.

The full report can be found here.