Sections of the A127 will be closed overnight as work takes place to resurface the main road in and out of the City of Southend-on-Sea.
Southend-on-Sea City Council received an £8m grant from the Government’s Local Growth Fund to help improve resilience of the A127. Work so far has seen stretches of the A127, including the majority of Victoria Avenue, dug up to fill voids under the concrete carriageway, remove tarmac to expose the concrete slab, repairs to the concrete slab and finally replace the road surface. This gives the road greater resilience and reduces the need to carry out frequent resurfacing works.
The final element of the funding is to resurface the carriageway between Bellhouse Lane to the City boundary and also Progress Road to Bell House Road. Overnight full road closures from 8pm - 6am will be in place to facilitate the works at the following locations:
- Thursday 3 March - Friday 11 March (Mon-Fri) - A127 westbound road closure Kent Elms junction to the Borough Boundary
- Monday 14 March - Wednesday 16 March - A127 westbound road closure from Progress Road to the Borough Boundary
- Thursday 17 March - Friday 25 March (Mon-Fri) - A127 eastbound road closure from Progress Road to Bellhouse Road
The road closures are in place for the safety of the public and Eurovia workers during this time. The diversion route is via Rayleigh Road and will be clearly signposted. Residents and businesses directly affected by the road closure have been written to directly and will be granted access.
Cllr Ron Woodley, cabinet member for transport, asset management and inward investment, said: “These improvements will reduce the need to continuously resurface the busy A127, and so I am delighted these works will help us focus on improving local roads for local people. The works of course come with inevitable road closures, but we have purposefully made them overnight closures to reduce the impact on local people.
“This council is completely committed to improving our City’s roads to create a place that invites visitors and potential investors to Southend-on-Sea. We have already seen unprecedented investment in our own budget, with £10m being invested last year, and £10m proposed for this coming financial year. We will always seek to apply for further grants and funding pots, and the £8m we successfully received from the Local Growth Fund has enabled us to carry out essential improvements on the A127 and the majority Victoria Avenue - two of the City’s busiest and most important roads.”