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A13 Sadlers Farm roadworks lifted 12 years after major upgrade began

Owen Ward/BBC Lane closures on the A13 Sadlers FarmOwen Ward/BBC
A lane has been closed in either direction on the A13 Sadlers Farm since 2017

Lane closures near a busy Essex junction have been lifted more than 12 years after a road upgrade began.

The A13/A130 Sadlers Farm scheme at South Benfleet began in 2010 and was originally due for completion in time for the nearby London 2012 Olympic mountain biking events.

Two lanes of the A13 have been closed since 2017 when a new contractor began remedial works.

Contractor Balfour Beatty apologised for the "inconvenience caused".

"The Sadlers Farm roadworks have turned into a never-ending story," said Conservative Castle Point MP Rebecca Harris.

"Thousands of hours of Castle Point residents' lives have been wasted stuck in traffic."

Essex County Council started planning the new junction in 2003 and appointed a contractor in 2007.

The project, originally costed at £63m, involved constructing dual carriageways, four new bridges and a new roundabout.

The council apologised in June 2012 to Olympics organisers - with the Hadleigh Farm mountain biking course four miles (6km) from the site - because the project was not completed.

Balfour Beatty was contracted five years later to replace bearings on two of the bridges, upgrade "drainage systems" and "strengthen" one of the carriageways.

The council identified issues with the original scheme.

The completion date for the remedial works has been pushed back at least five times, including as recently as February when Balfour Beatty aimed to finish by April.

Rebecca Harris Andrew Sheldon, Rebecca Harris MP and Balfour Beatty managing director Lindsay McGibbonRebecca Harris
Essex county councillor Andrew Sheldon, Rebecca Harris MP and Balfour Beatty managing director Lindsay McGibbon met at the House of Commons in November

Scaffolding has been left at the bridges and the contractor plans to carry out one more lane closure in 2023 to check the bearings.

"Residents are sick of sitting in traffic, seeing rows of cones out of their car window and not a worker in sight," said Andrew Sheldon, Conservative Essex county councillor for South Benfleet.

A Balfour Beatty spokeswoman said: "We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused as we enter the final phase of the scheme and thank the public and local community for their ongoing patience."

Essex County Council said it was "unfortunate the programme has been delayed" but said the remedial works had "no additional cost to the Essex taxpayer".

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