You can have a say on plans for a revamped M25-A12 junction

You might, or might not, have spent precious minutes (hours?) of your life at the junction of the M25 with the A12 and be delighted to know that up to £100 million is to be spent on upgrading it.
You might, or might not, be unhappy at both the amount of land the intended scheme would consume and the sum of money it would take in such straitened times.
Either way, you can have your say on the proposals in a Highways England consultation that began on Monday (December 3) and will run until Monday, January 28.
The agency says the scheme for what you might know better as the Brook Street roundabout, junction 28 or even the Gateway to the East, will cost £50m-£100m, with work hopefully beginning in June 2021. Its objectives are to:

• increase capacity and reduce congestion and delays by providing an improved link from M25 to A12
• reduce the incident rate and resulting disruption by increasing the capacity of the roundabout
• improve the safety on the roundabout by reducing traffic levels and redesigning the existing layout
• cater for future traffic demands to enable development and economic growth
• minimise the impact on local air quality and noise by smoothing the traffic flow
• protect access for non-motorised users (pedestrians and cyclists) and improve conditions wherever possible

The proposed work would entail a new two-lane link road for traffic leaving the M25 for the A12, the widening of a short section of the M25 and the redesign of the eastbound A12 interchange at the junction.
The county business community appears thrilled at the prospect. For example, David Burch, of Essex Chambers of Commerce, said: “This is great news. Plans to improve the junction, and make it safer for road-users, and speed the traffic along by reducing congestion, have to be welcomed.
“We are looking forward to construction starting as soon as possible. We urge road-users to look at the proposals, and make their comments, and hopefully support them.
“This, together with the proposed third Thames Crossing, would be good for Essex road-users and Essex businesses, and also for the wider east of England.”
Highways England’s choice of Option 5F follows an earlier public consultation that ran from November 2016 to January 2017.
The scheme is categorised as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, meaning Highways England must apply for a Development Consent Order to win approval for the scheme.

• For details on the project, and to contribute to the consultation, see here