Major improvements to the gateway to the East - the busy M25 junction with the A12 in Essex - go on show this week.

The project, if approved, would ease congestion and make the difficult junction safer for drivers to negotiate.

The current slip road/roundabout system is at “full capacity”, and a bottle-neck.

The improvement scheme would cost between £50m and £100m, and could take place as soon as 2021/22, according to Highways England.

Under the plans, junction 28 of the M25, where the motorway meets the A12 at Brook Street, near Brentwood, will be reconfigured to improve the traffic flow.

A new two-lane link road will be created for traffic leaving the M25 for the A12, a short section of the M25 will be widened with the eastbound A12 interchange at the junction being redesigned to reduce congestion.

Highways England project manager Eve Herrington said :“Improving this junction will mean better journeys for the drivers who use it – up to 7,500 of them every hour at peak times.

“It will increase capacity and cut the risk of accidents, both of which will improve people’s journeys and boost the economy. I encourage anyone who uses this junction, or who lives or works nearby to find out more and let us know what they think.”

The M25 J28 is a heavily used roundabout mainly controlled by traffic lights.

It is already operating at full capacity, with traffic queues and lengthy delays, resulting in longer and increasingly unreliable journey times for motorists.

Up to 7,500 vehicles per hour travel through the roundabout at peak times, with large numbers travelling to and from East Anglia, including the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich.

The M25 J28 is a heavily used roundabout mainly controlled by traffic lights.

David Burch, director of policy at Essex Chambers of Commerce, said: “This is great news. Plans to improve the junction, and make it safer for road users, and speed the traffic along by reducing congestion, have to be welcomed.

“We are looking forward to construction starting as soon as possible. We urge road users to look at the proposals, and make their comments, and hopefully support them.

“This, together with the proposed third Thames Crossing, would be good for Essex road users and Essex businesses, and also for the wider East of England.”

And Nick Burfield, policy director at Suffolk Chamber, said: “This is a very busy junction, often congested, and very important for Suffolk business getting access to the M25 and the Channel Tunnel.

“Anything that will improve it will be welcomed here.”

Details about the plans along with the consultation response form are available online until January 28, 2019