Colchester's A12 resurfacing scheme has run £11 million over budget

New information obtained by a Freedom of Information request to National Highways has shown the reconstruction of the A12 between junction 25 and junction 26, which started in October 2022 will also overrun by at least six months.

To add to the frustration for those who use the A12 on a regular basis, only two miles of road has actually been reconstructed, and there are a further two miles of reconstruction still needing to be done.

Long-running – the A12 roadworks have been running since October 2022 and will not finish until August this year (Image: National Highways)

According to National Highways, the initial completion date for the Marks Tey to Stanway reconstruction scheme was February 2024, but now the project will not finish until the August bank holiday.

Figures show National Highways also underestimated the cost of the project, having set an original budget of £33million.

As of January 1, the estimated cost of the A12 reconstruction is set at £44million, and could yet increase should any further obstacles be encountered.

In all, only 4.1 miles of road will be resurfaced by the time works finish in August, but National Highways has said only half of that figure had been resurfaced by the beginning of 2024.

Kevin Bentley, the leader of Essex County Council and a city councillor for Marks Tey and Stanway said he will be pushing for County Hall to be reimbursed by National Highways for the damage the works have caused to smaller roads overrun with traffic.

He said: “Whilst it’s always welcome to have improvements, there are some serious questions which need to be asked of National Highways.

Determined – Essex County Council leader Kevin Bentley has said National Highways must reimburse County Hall for the damage the roadworks have caused to minor roads (Image: Newsquest)

“This is a huge escalation in costs, and it’s causing untold misery to all of our residents.

“It’s caused heavy traffic on our local roads, and I want to ensure that Essex County Council is fully compensated for the damage caused on roads by vehicles going along there.

“When there’s a heavy concentration of traffic, it damages smaller roads.

“Essex taxpayers must be reimbursed and I will be asking national Highways to look at this right now.”

National Highways has now responded. 

A spokesman said: “We had originally expected work to finish this spring but difficult ground conditions, requiring more extensive treatment than originally envisaged, and extended periods of poor weather have contributed to delays.

“This has also contributed towards the additional overall cost.”

The spokesman added other unforeseen construction factors have meant they are unable to provide an exact end date.

He continued: “The estimated end completion in all our current communications is summer 2024.

“Whilst we can’t provide an exact date for completion because poor weather, incidents and other as yet unknown construction factors may change it, we currently expect to be able to fully reopen the A12 to traffic before the August bank holiday.”

No further overnight closures for the A12 are currently scheduled.