Essex County Council is in a hurry to start work on the new A120 road between Braintree and Stansted, but fears a costly clash with eco-protesters.

This week it was revealed that the A130 road protest at Rettendon, where objectors have held out in tunnels for five weeks, has already cost £6m.

The aim is to have work on the A120 under way by next summer.

Although the county is running the project it will be paid for by the Highways Agency.

County council highways committee members were being told yesterday there may also be "additional costs for security measures made necessary by the actions of anti-road protesters".

The council is waiting for agreement by the Highways Agency that such costs will be a "legitimate charge" to the scheme. Otherwise Essex taxpayers might have to foot the bill.

A spokesperson for the road protest group's office said: ''We are not on any site on the A120 yet, but we do not only set up sites.

''We also give help to local people who want to take legal action."

The local Green Party says if road objectors do move in with a peaceful protest they will back them all the way.

Braintree Green councillor, James Abbott said: ''The road is very environmentally damaging and of no benefit to the local communities. It is a strategic route for heavy vehicles between Stansted Airport and the East Coast ports.

"We shall ourselves be making selective protests because there are 500 acres of classically lovely Essex countryside and places of natural interest going under for this project," he added.

If work starts on schedule in 2001 it should mean the new A120 will link with M11/A120 junction improvements the government wants finished by spring 2003.

To achieve this one contract must be agreed by the autumn and the design and build contract by spring 2001.

The scheme has to be approved by the government and officers fear this arrangement could mean delays on taking decisions.

Officers were asking for authorisation to issue tender notices before the next highways committee meeting in order to speed up the scheme.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.