M11 Junction 7a

Latest News - 14 August 2019: Good progress on advance (preparation) works for the new Junction 7A on the M11 at Harlow

These works have made good progress and are on target to be completed in September, ready for the major construction work associated with the new junction which is due to start next year.

At the new Harlowbury housing development the embankment and drainage works have been finished and now “hydroseeded” to ensure that it will be green, and lovely! (see photo)

Underway now is the installation of a 3-feet wide drain under the pavement on the south side from the pumping station to Mulberry Green (photos below) and work to ensure that local trees are properly dealt with in the construction works.

Contractors have now sent in their bids to build the new junction to Essex County Council and these are now being tested, evaluated and compared to select the company to do the work.

Please re-visit these pages regularly, and follow Essex Highways on Twitter for updates as the scheme develops.

Image of hydroseeded embankment outside Harlowbury housing development

Highways Schemes

Publication of Orders

Overview

Essex County Council has worked with Highways England to investigate options to improve access to Harlow’s road network to help facilitate growth and create better connectivity for residents, businesses and visitors. A strategic options appraisal study concluded that a new junction on the M11, known as Junction 7A, was the best solution.

The new M11 Junction 7A and widening of Gilden Way will:

Create a new east-west link, which will move traffic smoothly out of Harlow on to the M11
Reduce congestion on the north-south links through Harlow and towards Junction 7 and
Provide new opportunities for housing and business developments

The scheme

The scheme begins by widening Gilden Way from the London Road roundabout to Marsh Lane to create a three-lane road. This would provide an additional lane for traffic approaching Harlow. The widening will be accommodated within the existing highway boundaries or on land that will be transferred to the highway authority’s ownership.

From near the junction with Marsh Lane, a new road to the east will be built to link the improved Gilden Way to the M11 via a new roundabout called The Campions roundabout. A section of the old Sheering Road as it passes The Campions will become access-only for residents, while access to Mayfield Farm will also be improved.

From the new The Campions roundabout, the link will continue towards the new motorway roundabout junction on the western side of the M11. This is one of two new roundabouts that will be built on either side of the M11 and connected by a new bridge over the motorway. There will be slip roads on and off the M11 for both northbound and southbound traffic.

Traffic travelling from the new M11 junction towards Harlow will use the new roundabouts, on either side of the M11, and travel along a new wide two-lane link road to The Campions roundabout.

The material that we produced for the public consultation on these proposals contains detailed information on the scheme and how it will achieve its objectives. That information can be found in the ‘Useful documents and links’ section at the bottom of this page.

Current works

Advanced drainage, clearance and utility works are currently ongoing along Gilden Way to help facilitate the main works.

The scheme is being constructed under a design and build contract. In February 2019 we issued the tender for the contract. We expect to make an announcement on the successful contractor in late 2019 / early 2020.

Previous Engagement

From May-July 2016, we carried out an extensive public consultation on the proposals for the M11 Junction 7A and the widening of Gilden Way. As part of the consultation, we ensured the proposals were well publicised, including holding public information events and displaying information at Harlow Council Civic Centre during the consultation period. We received 149 responses, including one petition with 155 signatures.

You can download our Consultation document using the link below, along with other information about the scheme.

We are grateful to everyone who took the time to consider our proposals and provide their feedback. We read and analysed each response to gain a thorough understanding of the issues, suggestions and any concerns that they contained. This information was passed onto the relevant technical leads working on the proposals, and was used to help inform future decisions on the scheme.

At the end of this process, a Preferred Route was approved by the ECC Cabinet and announced on 13 December 2016.

During the 2016 public consultation, we committed to putting in place measures to reduce the impact of traffic noise on residents once the M11 Junction 7A scheme is in place. This is why we are proposing the installation of noise barriers along parts of Gilden Way and Sheering Road. Find out more about our proposed noise barriers.

In addition to installing the noise barriers, we were proposing the removal of the underpass under Gilden Way between The Oxleys and Gilden Close. Having considered feedback from residents, this underpass removal proposal is under review.

On 11th and 12th May 2018 two public events, the Orders Exhibitions, took place in Old Harlow. These events provided people with an opportunity to discuss the noise barrier and underpass removal proposals with project staff.

Contact us

Please contact us via m11j7a@essex.gov.uk if you have any questions about the scheme. We aim to respond to enquiries within 10 working days.

Useful documents and links

Documents relating to the scheme can be downloaded using the following links
Consultation document M11 Junction 7a 06a	PDF	30/01/2017
M11 Junction 7a / M11J7A Technical Approval Report	PDF	30/01/2017
Harlow Option Assessment Report Part 1	PDF	30/01/2017
Harlow Option Assessment Report Part 2	PDF	30/01/2017
Proposed Site Plan overview	PDF	30/01/2017
Further information about our plans, including a summary of responses to our earlier consultation and other engagement activity, can be found by viewing the documents submitted as part of our application to the Local Planning Authority