'We won't see this road improve in our lifetime'

A section of the A120 is still a single carriageway despite plans to turn it into a dual carriageway

Residents and business owners near a busy route through Essex said they had almost given up hope of seeing any improvements, or an end to the congestion, on a single carriageway stretch.

The A120 links Stansted with the port at Harwich and is mainly dual carriageway, apart from a 10-mile (16km) stretch between Braintree and Marks Tey.

While plans and proposals for adding an extra lane to that section have been in the pipeline for years, responsibility for the upgrade was transferred from Essex County Council to National Highways in 2020 - but no date for any work has been agreed.

The scheme is now potentially pushed back to beyond 2030 according to the last ministerial update in March 2023. The BBC contacted National Highways.

People living and working near the busy route spoke to BBC News about how the road affected their lives.

Sean Rider said there had been "numerous deaths" along the stretch of the A120

Sean Rider lives near Coggeshall and works at Energy Efficient Homes at Marks Tey.

"I live and work on this road so it's a double-edged sword for me, really," he said.

His commute, of just four miles (6.5km), regularly takes at least half an hour instead of the few minutes he said he would expect.

But it was the human cost that worried him the most.

"Where the junctions are, the locals get so frustrated that people start taking chances and pull out onto the road," he added.

"There have been numerous death along this road - it's not fit for purpose in this day and age."

Talk of improvements and new routes "keep getting put back", he said.

"I'm not even sure that I'll see - in my lifetime - anything change."

Wendy O'Riordan said customers were late or cancelled because of traffic jams

Wendy O'Riordan owns Wendy's Hair And Beauty, a salon at Marks Tey and said constant hold-ups on the road made her customers "panic - because they can't get to their appointment".

Cancellations and re-arranging schedules were commonplace, she said.

"The A120 is hard work generally, but add to that the A12 [improvement roadworks] and it's a double whammy."

Asked about turning the A120 into a dual carriageway, she said: "I've been here over 40 years and it was supposed to be done - but it has never been done."

Martin Cowan said customers avoided his nursery because of delays on the road

Martin Cowan runs Poplar Nurseries in Marks Tey, a company founded by his father about 88 years ago and which has been at its current site off the A120 since 1947.

Mr Cowan said even back then, there was talk of building a new road.

"Father told me they talked about putting a road from Braintree to the A12 in 1947 - and here we are in 2024 and we still haven't done anything," he said.

"Whether I shall ever see it bypassed...?"

He said a bypass could be helpful as a lot of customers said they no longer came because of the hold-ups.

The road "does our business harm", said Mr Cowan.

He admitted he had "just about given up" on seeing any improvements to this stretch of the A120.

"It could be another 80 years - who knows?"

Laura Said said she took long detours to avoid sitting in traffic jams

Laura Said has lived in Marks Tey for 27 years, during which time the A120 has been "the bane of our lives", she said.

"Accidents, traffic - and on bin day you can't move on that road."

She said it sometimes took her an hour to do a five-mile (8km) journey from work to home and would often take a long detour to avoid just sitting in traffic.

"They've promised a dual carriageway for all this time and it's never materialised," she said.

"They're just building more houses but there's no infrastructure to support that.

"It's only going one way - and that's gridlock.

"This road? I can't imagine it ever getting done.

"Politicians really need to think about the impact this has on local people."

What do the local political candidates say?

There are currently six candidates standing in the UK Parliamentary general election in the constituency of Witham, in Essex.

James Abbott - Green Party

Tim Blaxill - Reform UK

Rumi Chowdhury - Labour

Chelsey Jay - Independent

Priti Patel - Conservative

Ashley Thompson - Liberal Democrats

The Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green, and Reform candidates all supported the building of new dual carriageway, either along the existing route or along a new route.

However, the Labour and the Independent candidates both said all options should be evaluated.