A12 named worst A-road in England following transport survey

An A-road in the East of England has been ranked as the worst in the country.

The A12, which connects Lowestoft in Suffolk to London, via Essex, was blighted by maintenance issues and roadworks, road users said in a survey.

Watchdog Transport Focus compiled the questionnaire to give National Highways and the government an idea of people’s experiences on major roads and motorways, and to show where improvements were needed.

Jordan Sargeant, manager for Transport Focus, said: “The key things with the A12 in this survey is the road surface… the need for improvement in this area for the road surface is clear.” National Highways said it was completing £100m of improvements.

The survey was responded to by 9,000 road users and feedback on journey time, road surfaces and potholes was provided.

Mr Sargeant said another reason why the A12 had such negative feedback was the volume of roadworks.

“People find it frustrating when they don’t see work being done or they don’t understand how long work is going to last,” he said.

Bill Allwood from Yoxford, a village on the A12, said travelling on the road was “always a gamble”.

“There’s always something going on on the A12… the amount of traffic and with Sizewell C it is only going to get worse,” he told the BBC.

Graham Leaf used to drive from Colchester to London every day for 10 years.

He said the congestion got “worse and worse and worse” and he would have to leave at 05:00 to “beat the main traffic which used to build up at 06:30”.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “We listened to the views of road users and are about to complete the final section of £100m of improvements we have delivered to the A12 since this survey was undertaken.

“This work will provide safer, smoother and quieter journeys for those that rely on this vital road, as well as less need for maintenance and repair in the future.”

Suffolk Highways said it inspected its section monthly.

A spokesperson added: “We recognise that following Storm Babet, and other major storms, there were challenges across Suffolk’s local road network, including locations on the A12 around Yoxford that were particularly impacted by flooding.

“Suffolk Highways have invested heavily in improving the A12 and continue to maintain the area as required.”

When contacted for comment, Essex Highways referred the BBC back to National Highways.