'I'm not surprised A12 is England's worst A-road'

Motorists have described the A12 as "quite dreadful" and "accident-prone" after it was voted the worst A-road in the country.

The route, which runs from London to Lowestoft, through Essex and Suffolk, was given the unwanted accolade after Transport Focus surveyed more than 9,500 drivers who travel in England.

According to the watchdog's report, only 64% of the motorists surveyed said they were satisfied with the 118.8-mile (191.2-km) road.

The A12 is the responsibility of National Highways, which said it managed roads to ensure the "highest levels of safety while minimising disruption to drivers".

But some motorists do not believe the A12 is fit for purpose and most mornings and evenings, often find themselves stuck in traffic.

One unnamed driver in the report, who had travelled on the A12 for 34 years, said a pleasant journey was a "rare treat".

"A lot of wasted life hours," they added.

Plasterer George Foster lives near Ipswich and uses the A12 every day.

He said he had not been surprised by the survey's result.

"It's pretty bad, and whichever way you go you get stuck in traffic," said the 29-year-old, who said delays had made him late to jobs.

"[The problem is] as soon as anything hits the Copdock roundabout [near Ipswich] any time after seven it just slows everything up really and backs up."

Jay Skargon, from specialist pet shop The Trop Shop, just off the A12 near Ipswich, uses the road to get to work from Stonham Aspal on his motorbike.

While he could slalom in and out of stationary cars, the 29-year-old often opts not to for safety reasons, despite branding being stuck in standstill traffic a "nightmare".

"It doesn't matter what end of the A12 it is, it is always backed up with traffic and there are always accidents on the road. It is accident-prone," he said.

"It is quite dreadful and it can be a bit frustrating sometimes and where we work it is just the worst for traffic jams."

But is the issue the road itself or those using it?

"I would definitely say it's the drivers," added Skargon.

"You get people who aren't going the speed limit or braking when they don't need to and I think 'why is there traffic?', because there doesn't need to be."

Tim Wray, managing director of freight company Multimodal Logistics Ltd in Felixstowe, said the A12 can often be bad for business.

"I moved here in 1987 and I drove down the same road into Felixstowe then as I do today," he said.

"Yet, since then, we've had increasing housing, warehousing, freight has picked up and there is more traffic, but the road network has remained exactly the same.

"It is one of the main trunk routes out of the port and down to London and the South East and South West, but delays on the road are commonplace and create a significant hardship for our business."

But for all the shortfalls many drivers say the A12 has, efforts have been - and are being - made to improve it.

Earlier this year, the government recommitted to its funding of a £63m scheme to upgrade the A12 between the A14, on the outskirts of Ipswich, and Woodbridge over the next five years.

There are also the extensive improvement works being carried out by the developers behind the Sizewell C the nuclear power plant.

Until recently, Jacqueline Day, 57, served hungry motorists from Tate and Jack's Snack Bar in a layby on the A12 at Friday Street, near Saxmundham.

She said, before the developers built a new roundabout at the junction, the A12 had been "the worst road" - but not anymore.

"Before, there were accidents happening every day, where people were going too fast or breaking suddenly, it was ridiculous," she said.

"But now there's the roundabout, it seems to be a lot better and it seems to have given drivers a lot more time.

"I can understand people's frustration with all the roadworks on the A12, but it will be of benefit in the long run."

Kent's M20 motorway was named England's best major road, while the M27 in Hampshire was voted the worst.

The A30, which runs from London to Land's End in Cornwall, was declared the best A-road.

A National Highways spokesperson said: "We manage our roads to ensure the highest levels of safety while minimising disruption to drivers.

"The survey results show our work to improve road conditions and incident response times have had a positive impact for drivers.

"When roads are well maintained, businesses and communities feel the benefit, and we are committed to tackling an ageing network head-on to keep the country moving and give drivers better experiences."

Suffolk County Council spokesperson said it was "delivering and supporting improvements along the A12 corridor".

This included "forthcoming works between Woodbridge and Seven Hills to tackle long‑standing bottlenecks and improve junction performance".

They added: "We are also working with National Highways on the Sizewell C construction impacts, where new infrastructure will improve access and safety once complete."

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