A road that would have helped link a new hospital in Harlow is to be removed from initial plans for a new M11 junction.

The news comes as it is revealed work is expected to start on Junction 7a towards the end of the year and last for nearly three years.

Instead of two carriageways – one carrying westbound and the other carrying eastbound traffic – between the new M11 junction and Sheering Road, there will be just one.

The decision to build one larger dual carriageway carrying both traffic in both directions has come about because it is now apparent that there is no short to medium term need for the second carriageway.

This was named the ‘north 2b arm’ in the original plans, which also included a roundabout designed to link to a new Princess Alexandra Hospital.

This is partly due to the timeframe of emerging development in the area, including the hospital, and partly due to a new focus on sustainable non-motorised transport infrastructure for development in the Harlow Gilston area.

A new hospital is set to be built in Harlow, one of six brand new hospitals to be built across the country from £2.7 billion invested by 2025.

However although the preferred option is to build the new facility close to the northern 2b arm, this is yet to be confirmed. It could yet be a rebuild on the existing estate in the centre of town.

Essex County Council planning officer Tom McCarthy said: “The phase 2b link road was always intended to facilitate planned growth within that northern area – that northern parcel of land has been identified for the new Princess Alexandra Hospital.

“There is no certainty as to when that will come forward which is why in the short to medium term it has now been programmed that the expenditure on that link road is not required.

“And through the compulsory purchase order it was raised that there was not the immediate intention to facilitate that growth given that it is unconfirmed at the current time.”

Once need increases enough  – including that for a new hospital –  a new northern arm will be built.

Mr McCarthy added: “In terms of the traffic modelling the applicant has updated the traffic modelling to ensure the dual carriageway will be able to cope with predicted growth.

“That modelling has shown that the dual carriageway will be able to deal as effectively as the 2a and 2b plans – there is no loss of carriageway because you still have two going in and two going out,  it’s just that you haven’t got the additional roundabout.

“This is seen as an interim scheme. So it won’t be that the applicant would lose the facility to build that in the future.

“Should development come forward to the north, for example the hospital, they would be able to build that out to facilitate that growth in the longer term.

“It is considered in the short to medium term the growth has not been substantiated for that arm being built at this time.”