THE results of an independent inquiry into the A12 - once labelled the “worst” road in the country - have been made public for the first time today.

Annie Davidson

THE results of an independent inquiry into the A12 - once labelled the “worst” road in the country - have been made public for the first time today.

A total of 28 recommendations have been made about the road following the three-day hearing, including banning lorries from overtaking between Marks Tey and Hatfield Peverel and the introduction of gates in the central reservation to clear tailbacks caused by accidents.

However despite a number of witnesses arguing in favour widening the A12 to three lanes, the inquiry did not recommend it, concluding there was no chance of getting the funding.

The inquiry was commissioned by Essex County Council in February and conducted over three months in April, May and June by an independent panel chaired by Sir David Rowlands, former permanent secretary at the Department for Transport, together with professor Stephen Glaister, Dr David Quarmby and Lord Whitty.

During the hearing, which was the first ever sponsored inquiry into a major trunk road, MPs, councillors, the emergency services and motoring groups were among those who gave evidence with the public also being invited to comment.

The A12 - once labelled the worst road in the country by an insurance company's survey - was closed on average more than once a fortnight between the M25 junction and Copdock interchange in Ipswich.

The panel heard the average closure time was three-and-a-half hours but had been as long as six or seven and on once occasion more than 24 hours.

Essex County Council's leader Lord Hanningfield said the authority would now “diges the recommendations and feed them into the normal decision-making processes.