A12 widening project in Essex approved by transport secretary

About 90,000 vehicles use the section of the A12 on a daily basis

The government has given the green light for a £1.2bn upgrade to a dual carriageway in Essex.

Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper has given development consent for the A12 widening scheme.

The major trunk road would be widened from two lanes to three lanes in each direction between junction 19 (Boreham Interchange) and junction 25 (Marks Tey Interchange).

Chelmsford City Council and residents have previously criticised the plans.

The development will also include the removal of junctions 20a, 20b and 23, in addition to moving junction 21, 22 and 24.

National Highways has said projections showed motorists could shave as much as 1.5 hours in total off their five-day commute, if the widening scheme went ahead.

Bernard Jenkin, MP for Harwich and North Essex, said the finale review was "long overdue".

"I first called for this nearly 20 years ago, and we need the extra capacity. It will also reduce A12 road closures," he said.

"Once completed, this will be huge boost for Essex and the whole region."

Private hire driver Richard Mead has had bad experiences on the A12

Richard Mead is a private hire driver in Chelmsford.

"I think it's a good idea as long as it doesn't have a harmful effect on nature at the side of the road," he said.

Previously Mr Mead was a lorry driver and experienced "hours of trouble" on the A12.

"Road improvements are necessary;, there are more cars and more people... unfortunately it's a necessary evil," he added.

Gillian Lowe would prefer a large amount of money was spent on other projects as she believes the road widening is unnecessary

Gillian Lowe, 61, lives in Hatfield Peverel and does not think the road widening is necessary.

She explained: "I travel on the A12 about once a week and I found it OK, it takes about half an hour".

"I suppose a waste of money is a contributing fact, but I don't understand the necessity of it".

Deborah Clift has lived in Witham for nearly 60 years and welcomed any improvement to the A12

Deborah Clift has lived in Witham since she was four years old said it was "a really good idea".

The 63-year-old said she had been stuck on the A12 many times, often for more than two hours.

"Most people absolutely hate the A12; there's daily problems, major crashes and pile-ups," she said.

"The infrastructure is not there and that is the problem with most of it to be honest."