A12

Route

This is the A12 just west of Junction 26

Main Article: A12/Route

The A12 is a major road from London to Lowestoft via Chelmsford, Colchester and Ipswich. It is one of the main arterial routes through East Anglia, and is a particularly important connection (with the A14) for goods traffic between London and the Port of Felixstowe. Despite this, the current road has largely been built out of a series of unconnected bypass plans and online dualling, and traffic particularly suffers between the M25 and A14.

From its creation in 1936 the London - Great Yarmouth trunk road followed the A12 throughout its route.

History

Birds crossing the A12 in 1970

Main Article: A12/History

Like many of the first 99, the A12 has had a vast array of upgrades. Unlike most of them, the upgrades are a group of bypasses that just happens to make a major road. Also parts of the old road are now abandoned.

Notable locations and improvements

Redbridge Roundabout

The A406 overbridges.

Main Article: Redbridge Roundabout (London)

The Redbridge Roundabout is where the A12 meets the North Circular road. Built in the 1970's for the M15, now numbered A406, the roundabout today is very busy. It is also right by Redbridge Tube Station.

Brook Street Interchange

This is southern side of the roundabout from the M25

Main Article: Brook Street Interchange

Brook Street Interchange was first built in the 1970's as part of the Brentwood Bypass. The old road was renumbered A1023. In 1983 the M25 was built on top of the existing interchange. Today it is one of the busiest junctions of the M25 due to the fact the A12 is the only road from London to the southern end of East Anglia.

Copdock Interchange

This is the A12 near Copdock Interchange

Main Article: Copdock Interchange

Copdock Interchange is where the A12 meets the A14. A very busy junction as all A12 traffic is dumped onto the Eastbound A14. It also where the old A12 goes straight towards Ipswich.

Opening Dates

Year	Section	Notes
1923	Gorleston on Sea Bypass	Middleton Road was opened on 23 July 1923 by E.J. Middleton, Mayor of Yarmouth. He said that he did not think the bypass would take visitors from Gorleston since motorists were well to do people who would be the sort who visit Gorleston rather than Yarmouth! 30 foot carriageway. Cost £21,533. Church Road was also remade at a cost of £10,100 to complete the bypass of the High Street. Later renumbered as B1370.
1925	Eastern Avenue	The 8 mile road from Wanstead to Gallows Corner, north east of Romford was officially opened on 25 March 1925 by Prince Henry (later the Duke of Gloucester). Sections had opened earlier. Work had begun in 1921. Opened as A106.
1930	Redbridge	New Bridge
1930	Ipswich Bypass	The original bypass.
1932	Chelmsford Bypass	The 3.25 mile original bypass was opened on 25 May 1932 by Prince George, youngest son of King George V. The new railway bridge and diversion at Widford was opened on 20 June 1932. Width was 60 feet with a 30 foot carriageway. Surface was 2 in. mastic asphalt on a 10 in. double reinforced concrete foundation. The bridge over the Chelmer and Blackwater Canal was of the arched soffit type with a 75 foot span. Work had commenced in September 1930 on the 4 separate contracts, total cost £200,000. Later renumbered A1114.
1933	Woodbridge Bypass	The 4 mile bypass from north of Martlesham railway bridge to Upper Street, Ufford was opened on 29 November 1933 with no ceremony. Cost £100,000. A short section at the Ufford end has later become unclassified and a short Martlesham section has later been abandoned.
1933	Colchester Bypass	The 3.75 mile original bypass from Lexdon to Greenstead was opened on 29 June 1933 by Viscount Ullswater. Work had commenced in May 1930. Cost £292,000. It was claimed that the aggregate of granite in the asphalt surface would make it skidproof. Part was A133 and it later was fully renumbered A133.
1959	Ingatestone Bypass	The 1.6 mile dual carriageway was opened on 23 November 1959 by Ernest Marples, Minister of Transport. Cost £250,000. A six verse "road safety" hymn composed by the village Rector, Rev. E.F. Hudson, was sung by the church choir at the ceremony.
1964	Witham Bypass	The 3.75 mile concrete surfaced dual carriageway was opened on 15 September 1964 by Ernest Marples, Minister of Transport. It featured the first local authority use of the new Worboys report type road signs, with green backgrounds, white roads / place names and amber route numbers. The largest of the 32 signs measured 15 by 11.5 feet. Contractor was W. and C. French Ltd., cost £1.5 million.
1965	Hatfield Peverel Bypass	Shown on February 1966 OS Quarter inch map. Was under construction on June 1965 OS One inch map
1965	Brentwood Bypass	The 4.75 mile dual carriageway opened on 26 November 1965. Cost £4 million.
1966	Stratford St Mary Bypass	The 2 mile dual carriageway opened on 5 August 1966.
1967	Kelvedon Bypass	Described as due to open in 1967 by the 7 January 1967 Illustrated London News. Note, however, it was shown on the November 1966 OS Route Planner map so may have opened in 1966. Not on February 1966 OS Quarter inch map.
1971	Boreham Bypass
1971	Marks Tey and Stanway Bypass	Also a bypass of Beacon End. Marks Tey Roundabout to Spring Lane Roundabout, Cymbeline Way (original Colcheter Bypass). Shown on July 1971 OS Route Planner map. Not on July 1970 edition.
1973	Mountnessing Bypass	Dual carriageway between Marylands Interchange and Trueloves Interchange (the gap between the Brentford and Ingatestone Bypasses). Shown on July 1973 OS Route Planning map. Not shown on July 1972 edition. It may have opened in 1972.
1973	Margaretting Bypass	Dual carriageway from north end of Ingatestone bypass to rejoin A12 Three Mile Hill at the current Webbs Farm Interchange. Contract was issued in January 1971 to Robert McGregor and Sons of Chesterfield. The road was involved in a test case in October 1973 when a challenge to the accuracy of the new "Vascar" electronic speed computer was rejected.
1974	Colchester Bypass	Second bypass
1976	Wickham Market and Ufford Bypass	Opened on 22 July 1976 (per Hansard of 28 July 1993). The 3.5 mile D2 dual carriageway was completed in July 1976 per the Policy for Roads: England 1978 Report. Outturn works cost £3.9 million.
1977	Wangford Bypass	Reported as open by the Winter 1977/78 RAC World magazine.
1977	Hopton-on-Sea Bypass	The 1.2 mile D2 dual carriageway was reported as opened to traffic by the Lynn Advertiser of 11 February 1977. The Policy for Roads: England 1978 Report gave a completion date of July 1977 so some works continued. Outturn works cost £0.5 million. Renumbered A47 in 2017.
1978	Lowestoft Central Area Relief Road	Opened on 19 March 1978 per the Land Compensation Act notice. Later renumbered as A47.
1984	Harold Wood: Colchester Road dualling	2 miles online, Gallows Corner to M25 J28 Brook Street Interchange. Completed in September 1984 per the DoT's National Roads England 1985 report.
1984	Ipswich Eastern Bypass	The 2.6 mile dual carriageway from the southern roundabout of the Martlesham Heath Diversion (originally A1093) to Seven Hills Interchange on A14 (then A45), north-east of Nacton was completed in June 1984 (per the 1985 National Roads England Report). Outturn works cost £3.9 million.
1984	Copdock and Washbrook Bypass	The 3 mile dual carriageway from just south-west of Bentley Longwood Interchange to London Road, Chantry, Ipswich (0.3 miles south-west of Sprites Lane) was completed in July 1984 (per the 1985 National Roads England Report). Outturn works cost £11.9 million. A1214 was north of Copdock Interchange.
1986	Chelmsford Bypass	The 9.25 mile dual carriageway from Webbs Farm Interchange (Margaretting) to Boreham Interchange was opened on 24 November 1986 per the Land Compensation Act notice. Contract value was £26 million, total cost £37 million. This was the second bypass of the town.
1987	Martlesham Bypass	The 1.8 mile dual carriageway from the Kesgrave roundabout to Woodbridge bypass opened on 19 November 1987 per the Land Compensation Act notice. Estimated works cost £9.1 million.
1993	Gorleston Inner Relief Road	Harfreys Roundabout to Middleton Road Roundabout. The dual carriageway was officially opened in September 1993 per a Highways Agency FoI letter of 8 July 2019. Parts may have opened earlier. Tender cost £20 million. Renumbered A47 in 2017.
1999	Redbridge to Hackney wick	M11 Link Road. A11 downgraded to A1199 (Woodford to Leytonstone), declassified (Leytonstone to Stratford) and A118 (Stratford to Bow)
2000	A12 extended to A13	Road renumbering
2006	Lowestoft Southern Relief Road	Tom Crisp Way was opened on 27 June 2006 by Guy McGregor, Lord Tollemache and County Councillor. Designed to take traffic away from London Road and the seafront. Contractor was Breheny, cost £30 million. Tom Crisp was the skipper of an armed fishing smack who died in a battle with a German submarine in 1917 and was awarded the Victoria Cross.
2016	A47 extended from Great Yarmouth to Lowestoft, reducing the length of the A12	Road renumbering

Trivia

The A12 is one of just sixteen F99 routes that have the distinction of maintaining green-signed primary route status throughout its entire length. The others are the A14, A16, A17, A22, A42, A43, A45, A53, A55, A75, A78, A83, A84, A86, and A87.

Future

Expressway Proposals

In December 2017, it was proposed that the A12 could be upgraded to an expressway as part of the proposals to introduce a new type of road network. The proposal includes different expressway types with an aspiration that the highest quality expressways will be given motorway designation and an Ax(M) number. (Source: Highways England Strategic Road Network Initial Report)

Chelmsford to Marks Tey (19-25) Realignment

A scheme was announced in July 2016 to improve the A12 between Chelmsford and Marks Tey. This existing route consists mainly of online upgrades with some smaller offline bypasses. There are numerous property frontages, and other rights of way either are severed by the route or cross at grade. The existing route also mixes local and strategic traffic, with drivers suffering from poor journey reliability and low average speeds.

In August 2020, a preferred route annoucement was made. The cost of the improvement is £1,045m, with construction anticipated to start in 2023/4 and be complete in 2027/8.

Corton extension

2024 proposal for the A12 to be extended north, taking over the route of the A1117 to meet the A47 at Corton

Videos

AEC Dump Trucks and Mercury Lorries - Chelmsford Bypass

AEC Mercury lorries at work on the construction of the A12 Chelmsford by-pass near the juction of the A130 back in 1986.

Watch video > >

Links

Roads.org.uk

• Motorway Database
• Boreham Interchange
• Colchester Link

Roads UK

• Highways and Byways Route Guide
• A12: London to The Broads Flickr gallery

National Highways

• A12 Chelmsford to A120 Widening Scheme

Hansard

• M11 Link Road (11 March 1994) - different opinions in the house on the road

legislation.gov.uk

• The A12 Trunk Road (Lowestoft Northern Spine Road, Suffolk) (Trunking and Detrunking) Order 2016 - minor orders relating to junction improvements at the A12/B1385 junction in Lowestoft

• The A12 London–Great Yarmouth Trunk Road (A12/A14 Seven Hills Roundabout to South of Bascule Bridge) Detrunking Order 2001 - Detrunking of the section between Ipswich and Lowestoft

• The A12 Chelmsford to A120 Widening Development Consent Order 2024 - Road widening and improvements between J19 (Boreham) and J25 (Marks Tey)