A120 BRAINTREE TO A12 Essex County Council TECHNICAL APPRAISAL REPORT B3553T41-JAC-HGN-00-REP-C-0002 | P01 11/1/17 TECHNIC AL A PPR AISAL R EPORT Ess ex C ounty Council A120 Braintree to A12 Technical Appraisal Report Contents Contents ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Document purpose and structure ................................................................................................................ 8 1.2 Scheme Description .................................................................................................................................... 9 2. PLANNING BRIEF .................................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Study Area ................................................................................................................................................. 10 2.2 Justification for the scheme ....................................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Scheme Objectives .................................................................................................................................... 12 2.4 Previous Work and Studies ....................................................................................................................... 12 3. EXISTING CONDITIONS .......................................................................................................................... 14 3.1 Description of Locality ............................................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Existing Highway Network ......................................................................................................................... 14 3.3 Traffic ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 3.4 Existing Safety Conditions ......................................................................................................................... 17 3.5 Topography, Land Use, Property Industry ................................................................................................ 26 3.6 Climate....................................................................................................................................................... 27 3.7 Drainage .................................................................................................................................................... 27 3.8 Geology ..................................................................................................................................................... 28 3.9 Mining ........................................................................................................................................................ 28 3.10 Public Utilities ............................................................................................................................................ 29 3.11 Technology ................................................................................................................................................ 29 3.12 Existing Maintenance including Access .................................................................................................... 29 3.13 Environmental Status ................................................................................................................................ 30 3.14 Environment .............................................................................................................................................. 32 3.14.1 Air Quality and Carbon Emissions ............................................................................................................. 32 3.14.2 Cultural Heritage ........................................................................................................................................ 32 3.14.3 Landscape ................................................................................................................................................. 33 3.14.4 Nature Conservation .................................................................................................................................. 35 3.14.5 Geology and Soils ..................................................................................................................................... 41 3.14.6 Materials .................................................................................................................................................... 42 3.14.8 Noise and Vibration ................................................................................................................................... 45 3.14.9 People and Communities .......................................................................................................................... 45 3.14.10 Road Drainage and the Water Environment ............................................................................................. 46 3.15 Accessibility ............................................................................................................................................... 50 3.15.1 Severance ................................................................................................................................................. 50 3.15.2 Public Transport Accessibility .................................................................................................................... 51 3.15.3 Non-Motorised User Safety ....................................................................................................................... 51 3.16 Integration .................................................................................................................................................. 52 3.16.1 Role within the Strategic Road Network .................................................................................................... 52 B3553T41-JAC-HGN-00-REP-C-0002 Page 3 of 135 A120 Braintree to A12 Technical Appraisal Report 3.16.2 International Transport Links ..................................................................................................................... 52 3.17 Maintenance and Repair Strategy Statement ........................................................................................... 53 3.18 Other Relevant Factors ............................................................................................................................. 53 4. PLANNING FACTORS ............................................................................................................................. 54 4.1 Option Constraints ..................................................................................................................................... 54 4.2 Planning Policies ....................................................................................................................................... 54 4.2.1 Local and Regional Planning Policies ....................................................................................................... 54 4.2.2 National Policies ........................................................................................................................................ 56 4.3 Route to Consent ....................................................................................................................................... 57 5. DESCRIPTION OF ROUTE OPTIONS ..................................................................................................... 59 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 59 5.2 Options generation phase (Stage 0) ......................................................................................................... 60 5.3 Initial option assessment (Stage 1) ........................................................................................................... 63 5.4 Design parameters and assumptions ........................................................................................................ 64 5.5 Other schemes .......................................................................................................................................... 67 5.6 Option 3 ..................................................................................................................................................... 68 5.7 Option 4b ................................................................................................................................................... 70 5.8 Option 1b ................................................................................................................................................... 71 5.9 Option 9a ................................................................................................................................................... 72 5.10 Option 8 ....................................................................................................................................................