A CRASH between a car and a motorbike on the A127 brought traffic across south Essex to a standstill yesterday morning.

With drivers stuck in traffic for miles, calls have once again resurfaced for the road to be upgraded to a motorway.

Essex Police was called to reports of a crash involving a car and a motorbike on the A127 near Wickford at around 7.40am on Tuesday.

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The crash, which occurred heading west near Pound Lane, after the Fairglen Interchange, saw one lane blocked.

Queues were building back as far as past Rayleigh Weir to the east and Bowers Gifford to the south, with drivers across south Essex locked in hour-long queues as a result.

Politicians have repeatedly called for the A127, also known as the Southend Arterial Road, to be upgraded to a motorway to increase the road’s capacity and ability to deal with crashes without traffic grinding to a halt.

Kerry Smith, leader of the Independent Group in Basildon, said: “Something needs to be done about this road as soon as possible. It’s so out of date it’s beyond belief.

“It needs to be three lanes or upgraded to a motorway because it cannot cope as it is. Whenever there is an accident half of the county grinds to a halt.”

He added: “This road serves a major airport in Southend that the whole of south Essex wants to be a success, but it is being held back by this old road.”

The A127 was constructed as a new arterial road project in the 1920s, linking London with Southend, replacing the older A13.

More than 80,000 vehicles a day use some sections of the A127 – making it the busiest non-trunk road in Essex and busier than parts of the M11.

Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, is leading a campaign demanding the government agrees to a “£1billion plan” to bring the road up to motorway standard.

Essex Police is calling on witnesses to come forward following yesterday’s crash.

A force spokesman said: “If you have any information you can submit a report online at www.essex.police.uk or use the 'Live Chat' button to speak to an online operator between 7am-11pm.

“Please quote incident 177 of 14 June.

“You can also call us on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”