Road works to create the entrance to the University of Essex’s new Knowledge Gateway research park have been re-scheduled to start on 25 July.

The work on the A133 Clingoe Hill, which will take up to seven weeks, has been timed to coincide with the school summer holidays to help minimise delays to rush-hour traffic.

The University has worked with contractors Jackson Civil Engineering and Essex County Council to re-schedule the work when it will cause least disruption to motorists. The absence of school traffic, combined with the majority of the University’s students being on their summer vacation, should help to ease traffic delays on the route.

Knowledge Gateway Project Officer Andrew Hayward, from the University’s Estate Management section, said: “We have consulted with local residents and listened to the comments we have received, and have tried to help minimise disruption during this project. Thanks to the co-operation of Jackson and Essex County Council we have been able to respond to concerns expressed about rush hour traffic and school exam periods, and schedule the bulk of the highways work in the summer break.”

The work is part of a £7 million project to put in the roads, services and landscaping for the 40-acre development, which will provide research and development and office space for businesses and organisations keen to forge links with the University and tap in to its social science and scientific expertise.

The site will also include hotel and leisure facilities, new student accommodation and a private residential development, and is eventually expected to create up to 2,000 jobs.

The work to create the Knowledge Gateway entrance on the A133 will reduce sections of both carriageways to a single lane until early September, with the new junction expected to open by the end of that month.

ends
For further information, please contact Jenny Grinter in the University Communications Office on 01206 872400.