A SLIPROAD on the A13 will be opened ahead of schedule as the major roadworks continue.

Contractors J. Murphy & Sons Limited have announced the London-bound on-slip is due to open on Friday, April 12 as phase four of the works will start.

This next stage will see Stanford Road closed for improvement and major bridge works.

Journey times will be longer for drivers who want to use Stanford Road as they will be diverted via the Orsett Cock roundabout.

The diversion will be in place for two weeks.

To make sure motorists are safe during major work on the bridge, the A13 will be diverted - taking traffic up the junction’s slip roads and back down onto the A13. The majority of this work will take place between Friday, April 12 and Bank Holiday Monday, May 6 and will see the diversion in place all weekends from 8pm on Fridays until 5am on Mondays and on most weeknights from 8pm until 5am.

Simon Fay, Murphy construction manager, said: “The patience and understanding of all road users during the construction of the junction improvements has been a great help, and we will continue to work hard to keep any inconvenience to a minimum.”

The Stanford-le-Hope junction will be widened from two to three lanes. Despite the sliproads being closed, the junction will still have a single lane open to allow access to all of the surrounding areas.

Motorists are recommended to subscribe to the email alerts system on www.a13roadworks.co.uk, which will provide advanced warning of changes to traffic management.

Diversion routes will be signposted and road closures kept to a minimum.