A120 between Colchester and Little Bentley to be shut overnight for five months as major upgrade works begin
National Highways has warned motorists that from October this year the A120 will be shut between northern Colchester and Little Bentley for major roadworks. Teams will be carrying out specialist repairs and maintenance on stretches of the concrete road surface on the A120 between Crown Interchange and Little Bentley roundabout in both directions from October 21.
The surface of concrete roads that were designed between the 1950s and 1970s have an average life span of 50 years. Their surfaces are now reaching the stage where they will need to be repaired or replaced for safety reasons, and to help them be less noisy and better to drive on.
A spokesman for National Highways said: "The objective of the scheme is to undertake Life Extension Work (LEW) to extend the lifespan of the road surface on the A120 between Crown Interchange and Little Bentley roundabout. The scheme is located just east of Colchester and is approximately 9km in length.
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"Our road repairs will help improve the safety of the road surface. It is essential that we complete specialist repairs to the potholes and cracking to ensure a smoother and safer ride on the A120. Once complete, we expect the life of the road surface to be extended by up to 5 more years.
"To allow us to complete this work safely, we will need to have eastbound and westbound road closures. This work will be carried out between 8pm and 6am each night, when there’s less traffic on the road."
From October 21 to the end of December this year, the eastbound carriageway will be shut overnight, and from January to March 2025 the westbound carriageway will shut. During this time, traffic wishing to travel on the A120 between Crown Interchange and Little Bentley roundabout will need to use the signed diversion route that will be in place.
While the A120 is closed eastbound, traffic will travel south on the A12, exit at junction 26, and return north on the A12 to exit at junction 27 and join the A133 towards Elmstead Market. At the traffic lights, turn left onto Bromley Road/Harwich Road to join the A120 at Little Bentley Roundabout.
Westbound traffic will exit Little Bentley Roundabout onto Harwich Road/Bromley Road towards Elmstead Market. At the traffic lights, turn right and follow the A133 through Colchester to Spring Lane Roundabout then take the entry slip road to join the A12 southbound at junction 27.
Traffic wishing to travel north towards Ipswich and the A14 will continue south on the A12 to junction 26, exit and rejoin the A12 northbound to continue their journey.