A120 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Route information | ||||
Part of E32 | ||||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | Puckeridge | |||
A10 A1184 A1250 M11 Junctions 8 and 8A A131 A12 Junctions 25 and 29 A1232 A133 A136 | ||||
East end | Harwich | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United Kingdom | |||
Primary destinations | Stansted Airport Colchester | |||
Road network | ||||
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The A120 is an A-road in England, which runs between Puckeridge in Hertfordshire and Harwich in Essex.
Along its route, the A120 bypasses the towns of Bishop's Stortford, Great Dunmow, Braintree, Coggeshall, Colchester and Dovercourt. The route meets the A10, A131, A12 and A133 primary routes and the M11 motorway. London Stansted Airport sits directly north of the route on the Essex and Hertfordshire border. Harwich International Port, a North Sea seaport at the mouth of the River Stour, lies north of the A120 near Harwich. [1]
Part of the route constitutes Euroroute E32, between the A12 (E30) at Colchester and Harwich International Port. [2]
At its western terminus, the A120 meets the A10 at a roundabout south-west of Puckeridge. The A10 runs southbound towards Hertford and London, and northbound towards Royston and Cambridge.
Carried by Standon Hill, the A120 passes along the southern perimeter of Puckeridge and into the village of Standon. The route then continues towards Little Hadham, which it bypasses to the north, before reaching a roundabout with the A1184 and A1250 to the west of Bishop's Stortford. The town is bypassed to the north by the A120, crossing the River Stort and entering the county of Essex.
The route is managed by Hertfordshire County Council. [3]
Entering Essex to the north of Bishop's Stortford and south of Stansted Mountfitchet, the A120 meets the B1383 Stansted Road at a roundabout. The route continues to bypass the north-eastern portion of Bishop's Stortford before meeting the A1250 Dunmow Road, then the M11 motorway at junction 8. The motorway runs southbound towards Harlow and London, and northbound towards Newmarket and Cambridge. Birchanger Green service station is accessed from the junction 8 roundabout. The roundabout also provides access to the B1256 towards Takeley and Little Canfield.
East of the M11 motorway, the A120 carries traffic to Priory Wood Roundabout. The roundabout provides direct access to the M11 motorway southbound, which joins the main carriageway at junction 8A, and to Round Coppice Road (northbound to Stansted Business Park, Stansted Mountfitchet and Elsenham). Direct access to the A120 eastbound is provided from the M11 northbound at junction 8A, on a carriageway which passes over the top of Priory Wood Roundabout (and vice-versa for A120 westbound/M11 southbound traffic).
A dual carriageway carries the A120 to Braintree, past Great Dunmow, with grade-separated junctions:
The dual carriageway is broken at Galleys Corner, a roundabout with the B1018 (southbound to Witham), Cressing Road and Long Green. The roundabout sits to the south-east of Braintree. Access to Braintree Village, a shopping area, and Braintree Freeport railway station is via the B1018.
The A120 runs north–south along the eastern edge of Braintree town before reaching Marks Farm Roundabout. The north–south route continues as the A131 towards Halstead, Haverhill and Sudbury. Westbound from Marks Farm, the B1256 Coggeshall Road carries traffic into Braintree. The A120 resumes its east–west route along a single carriageway – which bypasses Coggeshall to the north – to Marks Tey.
At Marks Tey, the A12 meets the A120 at junction 25. The A12 runs southbound towards Kelvedon, Witham, Chelmsford and London, and northbound towards Colchester, Ipswich and Felixstowe. Marks Tey railway station, on the Great Eastern Main Line between London and Norwich, lies directly north-west of the junction.
A gap in the A120 is plugged by the A12 junctions 25–29, which runs to the north-west of Colchester.
The remainder of the A120 sits to the east of the A12 between Colchester and Harwich, meeting the London to Ipswich road at junction 29. At the junction, the A120 also meets A1232 Ipswich Road (southbound into Colchester). Along this section of the route, the A120 bypasses Elmstead, Wix, Ramsey and Dovercourt.
The A133 meets the A120 at a junction between Elmstead and Wix, which carries traffic towards Great Bentley, Weeley and Clacton-on-Sea.
Through the Dovercourt and Harwich towns, the B1352 runs roughly parallel to the A120. The B1352 meets the A120 at a roundabout near Ramsey and at the route's eastern terminus near Harwich Quay.
The A120 runs along the northern edge of both towns, meeting the A136 Parkeston Bypass for access to Harwich International Port and Harwich International railway station. The route then continues eastbound towards Harwich town centre and Harwich Navyard, past the Dovercourt and Harwich Town railway stations which lie directly south-east of the route.
The eastern terminus of the A120 is a roundabout with the B1352 West Street and The Quay. Navyard lies east of the A120's eastern terminus.
Within Essex, Essex County Council manages the A120 west of the M11 motorway, near Bishop's Stortford. National Highways is responsible for the remainder of the route. [4] [5]
According to the Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts (SABRE), the Ministry of Transport's 1922 List of Class I and Class II Roads and Numbers listed the A120 as being the route Puckeridge – Bishop's Stortford – Great Dunmow – Braintree – Marks Tey. [6]
The A120 roughly follows the path of the Stane Street Roman Road.
At its western end, Stane Street met Ermine Street, which ran north–south between Londinium (London), Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) and Eboracum (York). In the east, Stane Street's terminus was at Camulodunum (Colchester). [7] [8]
Archaeologists have uncovered Roman artefacts at several A120 towns.
In 2022, archaeologists unearthed Roman graves and evidence of a Roman settlement at Bishop's Stortford. Oxford Archaeologists, leading the project, described as a "once-in-a-lifetime discovery" and said evidence suggests the site was a major transport and trading post in the East of England. [9]
Of Great Dunmow, a Heritage Gateway report notes:
"Excavations between 1968 and 1972 uncovered the remains of a minor Roman linear settlement located along Stane Street, extending over 2 to 3 acres occupied from the 1st century AD to the 4th century AD; a Roman cremation cemetery and possible shrine were discovered along with timber buildings. The settlement is considered to be a vicus." [10]
Of Braintree, a similar report reads:
"The site of a Roman settlement at Braintree. Material found here suggests an extensive pre-Roman settlement, which continued as a small Roman urban centre at the intersection of Roman roads through the 1st century and perhaps diminishing in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries." [11]
The A120 bypasses several towns and villages. These include:
The A120 passes UK "international gateways" at London Stansted Airport and Harwich International Port. Connecting roads link the A120 with other UK gateways, such as the A12 towards Felixstowe and the M11 towards London. Since 2010, organisations including National Highways, A120 Driving Economic Growth and Transport East have identified the "A120 corridor" as one which supports UK government's economic ambitions such as growth and "levelling up". [14] [15] [16]
The M11 is a 55 miles (89 km) motorway that runs north from the North Circular Road (A406) in South Woodford to the A14, northwest of Cambridge, England. Originally proposed as a trunk road as early as 1915, various plans were considered throughout the 1960s, with final construction being undertaken between 1975 and 1980. The motorway was opened in stages, with the first stage between junctions 7 and 8 opening in June 1975, and the completed motorway becoming fully operational in February 1980. Running from Woodford to Girton, the motorway provides direct access to Harlow, Cambridge and since 2002, greatly improved access to London Stansted Airport.
The M40 motorway links London, Oxford, and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately 89 miles (143 km).
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The A46 is a major A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway development. Between Leicester and Lincoln the road follows the course of the Roman Fosse Way, but between Bath and Leicester, two cities also linked by the Fosse Way, it follows a more westerly course.
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, 27 miles (43 km) north-east of central London, and 35 miles (56 km) by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated population of 41,088 in 2020. The district of East Hertfordshire, where the town is located, has been ranked as the best place to live in the UK by the Halifax Quality of Life annual survey in 2020. The town is commonly known as “Stortford” by locals.
Great Dunmow is a historic market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is situated on the north of the A120 road, approximately midway between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree, five miles east of London Stansted Airport.
Uttlesford is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the market town of Saffron Walden. At the 2011 Census, the population of the district was 79,443. Other notable settlements include Great Dunmow, Elmdon, Stebbing, Stansted Mountfitchet, Thaxted, Debden, Little Chesterford and Felsted among other settlements.
The A10 is a major road in England which runs between The City of London and King's Lynn in Norfolk.
The A11 is a major trunk road in England. It originally ran roughly north east from London to Norwich, Norfolk, although after the M11 opened in the 1970s and then the A12 extension in 1999, a lengthy section has been renumbered between the suburbs of east London and the north-west corner of Essex. It also multiplexes/overlaps with the A14 on the Newmarket bypass.
Takeley is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England.
The A43 is a primary route in the English Midlands and northern South East England, that runs from the M40 motorway near Ardley in Oxfordshire to Stamford in Lincolnshire. Through Northamptonshire it bypasses the towns of Northampton, Kettering and Corby which are the three principal destinations on the A43 route. The A43 also links to the M1 motorway.
Bishop's Stortford railway station is on the West Anglia Main Line serving the town of Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire, England. It is 30 miles 27 chains (48.8 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Sawbridgeworth and Stansted Mountfitchet stations. Its three-letter station code is BIS.
Stane Street is a 39 mi (63 km) Roman road that runs from Ermine Street at Braughing, Hertfordshire to Colchester in Essex.
The A505 is a road in the East of England. It follows part of the route of the Icknield Way and the corresponding Icknield Way Path and runs from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire to the A11 Abington Interchange North in Cambridgeshire.
The A556 is a road in England which extends from the village of Delamere in Cheshire West and Chester to the Bowdon Interchange in Cheshire East, bordering Greater Manchester. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections and forms a large part of the route between Manchester and Chester. It also acts as a major access route to Chester/North Wales to the west and to Manchester to the east for the conurbation of towns and villages around the Dane Valley centering on Winsford and Northwich. The central part, which forms the Northwich Bypass between Davenham and Lostock Gralam, suffers because of the amount of commuter traffic from this area. The part of the route between the M6 motorway Junction 19 and the M56 motorway Junction 7 is a major route into Manchester and has been recently upgraded to a four-lane dual carriageway.
The A130 is a major road in England linking Little Waltham, near Chelmsford, the county town of Essex, with Canvey Island in the south of that county. It is a primary route for most of its length, only losing that status south of the A13 junction at Sadlers Farm roundabout as it nears its terminus on Canvey Island. It was originally a much longer cross-country route.
Braintree is a town and former civil parish in Essex, England. The principal settlement of Braintree District, it is located 10 miles northeast of Chelmsford, 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Southend-on-Sea, and 15 mi (24 km) west of Colchester. According to the 2021 Census, the town had a population of 43,492, while the urban area, which includes Great Notley, Rayne, Tye Green and High Garrett, had a population of 55,792.
The Bishop's Stortford–Braintree branch line was an 18-mile-long (29 km) railway line connecting existing railways at Bishop's Stortford, Dunmow and Braintree. It was promoted independently by the Bishop’s Stortford, Dunmow and Braintree Railway (BSD&BR) company, but the directors failed to generate subscriptions, or to manage the construction properly. The Great Eastern Railway was the dominant railway company in the area, and saw the line as a blocker, to prevent the incursion of a rival line, so they felt obliged to support it. However they themselves had other pressing priorities, both managerial and financial, at the time, and for some time the construction was in abeyance.
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Start Hill is a hamlet on the B1256 road, in the Great Hallingbury civil parish, Uttlesford District, in the English county of Essex. It is near the town of Bishop's Stortford.
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