&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:UK_road_A12.svg) | ||||
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&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:A12_London_Road,_Wrentham_-_crop.jpg) The A12 at Wrentham, heading toward Ipswich | ||||
| Route information | ||||
Part of  E30 | ||||
| Length | 118.8 mi[1][2] (191.2 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South-West end |   A102 / A13 in Poplar, London | |||
 A11 near Stratford, London
 A47 in Lowestoft | ||||
| North-East end |  A1144 in Lowestoft 52°28′26″N 1°45′02″E / 52.473840°N 1.750436°E | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Constituent country | England | |||
| Primary destinations | Stratford Romford Chelmsford Colchester Ipswich Lowestoft | |||
| Road network | ||||
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The A12 is a major road in Eastern England. It runs north-east/south-west between London and the coastal town of Lowestoft in the north-eastern corner of Suffolk, following a similar route to the Great Eastern Main Line until Ipswich. A section of the road between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth became part of the A47 in 2017.[3] Between the junctions with the M25 and the A14, the A12 forms part of the unsigned Euroroute E30 (prior to 1985, it was the E8). Unlike most A roads, this section of the A12, together with the A14 and the A55, has junction numbers as if it were a motorway.
The 52 miles (84 km) section of the A12 through Essex has sections of dual two lanes and dual three lanes, with eight changes in width between the M25 to Ipswich.[4] It was named as Britain's worst road because of "potholes and regular closures due to roadworks" in a 2007 survey by Cornhill Insurance.[5] The A12 is covered by Highways England's A12 and A120 Route Management Strategy.[6]
Starting just north of the Blackwall Tunnel, where it connects end on to the A102, it heads north through Bow and Hackney Wick, then north-east through Leyton and Romford, then into Essex, passing Brentwood and Colchester. In Suffolk, it passes Ipswich and Saxmundham, then follows the coast through Lowestoft before entering Norfolk, passing through Gorleston-on-Sea and ending at Great Yarmouth. In February 2017, the route was renumbered between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft to become the A47, so the road now terminates at the Bascule Bridge south of Lowestoft town centre.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Seg1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Seg2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Highways Agency Network Map". Highways Agency. November 2011. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
- ^ "A12 report FINAL" (PDF). Essex County Council.
- ^ "Motorists name A12 as worst road". BBC News. 26 February 2007. Archived from the original on 28 February 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2007.
- ^ "A12 and A120 Route Management Strategy". Highways Agency. Archived from the original on 7 November 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.