HIGHWAYS bosses have confirmed that work is progressing on a major £18million project to reconstruct the “cracked” concrete foundations of the A120 to Harwich.

National Highways is set to carry out repairs to the carriageway between Horsley Cross and Wix in both directions.

The work, which is expected to start in Spring 2024 and will be completed in 2025, will include the replacement of the concrete surface on the main carriageway, clearing drains, repainting road markings, and inserting new reflective road studs.

The East region has the highest concentration of concrete roads, which were designed between the 1950s and 1970s have an average life span of 50 years.

The agency said it is using innovative techniques to provide a modern road that will last for decades to come.

Road closure are set to take place within the next month to allow for ground investigations and bat surveys.

Anto Babu, project manager for the agency, said: “National Highways is progressing plans for a concrete reconstruction scheme on the A120 between Horsley Cross and Wix, which is due to start in spring 2024.

“Reconstruction will involve completely removing the concrete road surface and some of the foundations, before rebuilding the road and resurfacing it with asphalt.

“When complete, the work will provide safety benefits and a smoother rider for road users, a reduction of noise pollution for local residents, as well as a new modern road with a 40 to 50-year lifespan that’ll be easier and quicker for us to repair in future.

“In order to make sure we have the right information before we start, we’ll need to carry out a number of surveys to check the condition of the ground.

“We’ll also monitor any bats that may be in the area, as protecting ecology is important to us.

“For the safety of motorists and our workers, we’ll need to make full overnight closures on the A120 between Colchester Road and Harwich Road.”

The A120 in both directions between Colchester Road and Harwich Road will be closed from 10.30pm to 4am on May 23 and June 19. Diversions will be put in place.

Eastbound traffic will be diverted off the A120 at Horsley Cross onto the B1035, then B1352 and Wix Road to re-join the A120 at Ramsey.

Westbound traffic will be diverted off the A120 at Ramsey onto the B1352, B1414, B1033 and the A133 to re-join the A120.

As well as campaigning for the A120 to Harwich to be dualled, Harwich mayor Ivan Henderson also launched a petition calling for works to repair the “horrendous” concrete road surface.

"There are still large parts of the road that need improvement so we welcome progress being made on the works," he said.

"But our main call, with the amount of traffic coming from the port and possible increases due to new developments in Harwich, is that we still need this road to be dulled."