ROADWORKS which have shut the A12 entry slip road from Marks Tey are going to remain in place for five days longer than planned after workers encountered ‘technical difficulties’ with the road surface.

The northbound exit of the Marks Tey junction, which has been closed since Saturday, January 28, had been due to reopen on Monday.

It will now remain shut until Saturday, February 11, as National Highways continues to rebuild of the carriage way which links Colchester to Ipswich and Chelmsford.

Information from the National Highways website said there were unforeseen technical challenges which were encountered earlier this week relating to the removal of the road’s concrete surface.

Read more:

• Colchester driver caught doing 68mph in 40mph zone is given huge fine

• Colchester surgeon who showed 'disregard' for investigation into care is struck off

• Man found dead in country park but 'unexpected' death is not considered suspicious

National Highways’ programme delivery manager, Karl Brooks, said they were assigning more resource to the area to ensure there are no further delays.

He said: "We are working as hard as we can to improve the junction at Marks Tey and bring this part of the A12 up to modern standards, but as with any construction project you often uncover an unforeseen problem and that has unfortunately been the case this week."

Although an exact end date for the overall project has not been confirmed, it could run until 2024, having started in October of last year.