Highways England (HE) has initiated the consultation process for a new multi-million pound widening project on the A12.

As part of the consultation process HE will be seeking public views and opinions on the project, which will run until 3 March 2017.

The project works include widening the A12 between junction 19 (Boreham interchange) and junction 25 (Marks Tey interchange) in Essex.

"The works will be carried out in the region with an objective to reduce traffic congestion, improve safety andboost the economy."

The works will be carried out in the region with an objective to reduce traffic congestion, improve safety andboost the economy.

The project is part of the government’s record £15bn investment in England’s motorways and major A roads.

Highways England programme leader Richard Hofton said: “Deciding how best to plan and carry out improvements along the A12 is vitally important and we’ve been working hard to identify a range of possible solutions to take forward.

“There are important choices to be made and we are keen to get as many views as we can, so I encourage anyone who would like to find out more to check out the consultation materials online or come and see us at one of our public exhibitions.”

HE has already short listed four options, and these options have been put forward by the agency for consultation.

The options include widening the existing A12 corridor, or widening the existing A12 corridor between junctions 19 to 22 and 23 to 24 and two new bypasses between junctions 22 and 23 (Rivenhall) and between junctions 24 and 25 (Marks Tey).

The third option is a variation of option 2 with only one new bypass between junctions 22 and 23 (Rivenhall), and the fourth option is a variation of option 2 with only one new bypass between junctions 24 and 25 (Marks Tey).

Image: Highways England widening plans for the A12. Photo: courtesy of Crown copyright.