ESSEX County Council has earmarked £7.3 million to kickstart a £25 million, three-year overhaul of a major south Essex junction.

The council says it will present both short and long-term plans the A127 Fairglen interchange for public consultation within weeks.

In its budget this week the council earmarked the cash for the start of work at the junction – one of the most important on the A127 – as part of a £233million investment in highways, infrastructure and public transport.

Tens of thousands of motorists use the A127/A130 Fairglen Interchange daily linking major towns and areas including Basildon, Canvey, Chelmsford, Southend and Thurrock.

The junction forms a strategic connection between the A13, A127, A130 and A1245.  

It lies at the boundary of Basildon, Castle Point and Rochford District councils and it forms the main route for road users heading to or from Southend and Southend Airport.

The junction currently suffers significant congestion and delays on a daily basis. In addition local authorities expect a growth in jobs and housing by 2031 which will bring further traffic to the junction.

Short-term options include a new road linking the A130 and A1245, widened sliproads onto the Fairglen roundabout, auxiliary lanes on both A127 on-slips and a larger three-lane roundabout at Rayleigh Spur with signal controls.

Maldon and Burnham Standard: Changes to Fairglen Interchange will ease congestion

The long-term scheme would see an underpass bypassing the Rayleigh Spur roundabout from the A130 towards the A13 and Canvey and an overpass linking traffic heading towards the Rayleigh Spur from Sadlers Farm junction up and onto the Southend-bound A127.

Castle Point Councillor and former county councillor Ray Howard, welcomed the announcement.

He said: “Before I stepped down from the county council in May last year I was heavily involved in this scheme. I welcome this announcement of funding to start the short term project. It will help people in Castle Point, Rayleigh and Southend and it will help people on Canvey get to the Sadlers Farm roundabout more easily. It will take away a lot of congestion.

“The long-term scheme could take decades but we have to do something or south Essex will grind to a halt. We will be gridlocked because the population is growing all the time and there will be more and more cars.”

An Essex County Council spokesman said: “We will be announcing details of a public consultation into plans for the A127/A130 Fairglen Interchange in the coming weeks.”