The Government and Essex County Council will co-fund a new £45m motorway junction on the M11 near Harlow.
The new junction, to be known as Junction 7A, will sit to the north of Harlow and could begin construction in 2019.
Department for Transport (DfT) officials said the scheme, which will be part-funded by Essex CC, will cut congestion on the existing Junction 7, as well as supporting the delivery of 15,000 homes.
Essex CC deputy leader Cllr Kevin Bentley said: ‘Creating a key link to the M11 for Harlow, reductions in congestion and business growth opportunities are just a handful of reasons this plan has received unrivalled support.’
Plans for the new junction and other local road improvements were agreed by Essex CC’s cabinet last month following a public consultation.
Council papers noted that the scheme’s construction was dependent on securing the estimated £45m cost of delivering the new junction and a link road.
Officials suggested that funding was most likely to be secured through ‘consideration by government to switch funding from J7 to J7A’, stating that: ‘Up to £37m may be available from this.’
A spokesperson for Highways England confirmed that improvements to Junction 7 are part of the government-owned company’s delivery plan and acknowledged that the new junction might have some impact on that scheme.
However, a DfT spokesman said the department’s contribution was ‘Government money’, following announcements in the Autumn Statement.
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