COUNTY Hall is bidding for £23 million to improve four major A127 junctions – including straightening the Fortune of War in Laindon.

Essex County Council is preparing to submit a  bid for funding to the Department for Transport (DfT) in Spring 2023 for works on Warley, Halfway House, Fortune of War and Pound Lane junctions.

MPs and councillors have long campaigned for the controversial Fortune of War junction to be straightened.

READ MORE

“I first got onto Basildon councillor in 1988 and I can remember having discussions with colleagues about what needed to be done at that junction, so it’s a long-standing issue,” Essex County councillor Malcom Buckley, who sits on the Basildon local highways panel, said.

“The junction is one of the places that significantly slows down traffic along the A127, and some may argue that is a good thing, but on the other hand what it does is create queues which in turn cause air pollution.”

He added: “Residents will be pleased to see it improved, but may be wary of increased traffic speeds.”

Currently the junction has a 40mph speed limit.

Detailing the plans, an Essex County Council spokesman said: “ECC’s current preferred option at the Fortune of War junction includes straightening the alignment of the road and providing safe access and exit in the vicinity of the junction for road users.

“As part of this, ECC is also proposing walking and cycling improvements to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.”

County hall will fund the project, which is at a very early stage, through to the detailed design stage, with a Major Road Networks grant funding the final stages of design and full construction.

Of the total costs, £23.315 million will be funded by the MRN grant, with £2.404m coughed up by ECC – of which £0.751m has already been spent or committed. 

The council is also working to have the A127 taken back into the control of management of National Highways, who manage motorways as well as other strategic A roads.

An ECC spokesman added: “The A127 Task Force have also been making the case for the A127 to be re-trunked.

“An update is expected on this process later this year.”