MOTORISTS have been warned of roadworks to widen the access road to Basildon Hospital starting next month as part of a £3.4million improvement scheme.

Highways engineers will begin widening the Basildon Hospital access road to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion on Monday August 10.

The work is expected to last three months and marks the final phase of the Nethermayne improvement scheme.

It will involve widening the road from the hospital roundabout to provide two lanes in both directions.

The exit road from the multistorey car park will also be widened to two lanes.

Rodney Bass, Tory county councillor responsible for highways, said: “We were successful in securing funding for this phase of the project from the Government. The hospital access road improvement work is part of a larger funding package aimed at accelerating economic growth across Essex and in turn generating increased employment and housing opportunities for Basildon. Patients and visitors should be prepared for delays and give themselves extra time for their journeys while work is being carried out.”

Basildon Hospital’s director of estates and infrastructure, Zoe Asensio-Sanchez, said: “We are pleased to be working with Essex County Council on these improvements. Widening the road will make it easier for patients, visitors and staff to enter and exit the hospital site, which can become very congested during peak times."

The £3.4million Nethermayne improvement scheme began last September. It was designed to reduce congestion and increase accessibility along the A176.

An additional lane has been built for vehicles travelling between the hospital roundabout and the junction with Ashdon Way, with two lanes in both directions under the railway bridge to the junction with Roundacre roundabout.

In addition, the existing junction at Ashdon Way has been upgraded.

Nethermayne sees heavy traffic, especially during peak periods, between Basildon Hospital and the Roundacre roundabout.

It carries in excess of 25,000 vehicles a day.