It is a primary route for some of its length, only losing that status south of the A13 junction at Sadlers Farm roundabout as it nears its terminus on Canvey Island.

It extends for 6 miles (9.7 km) as far as a junction with the A132 near Wickford, whilst a slightly newer section south of there continues the route as a standard dual carriageway as far as a junction with a spur connecting to the old road (now A1245) and the A127 Southend Arterial Road a few miles west of Southend-on-Sea.

The new road here more or less follows the same path as the World War II GHQ Line hence the many pillboxes visible alongside the carriageway between the Howe Green and the A132 junctions.

South of the Sadlers Farm roundabout, the final leg of the A130 continues as a non-primary single-carriageway route into Canvey Island on the River Thames.

In early summer 2016, work was undertaken on the stretch between Rettendon and Howe Green (in both directions) to turn the existing hard shoulders into 3rd lanes, as the traffic volume had reached 50,000 vehicles per day.

The resurfacing and re-marking of the hard shoulders needed to turn them into 3rd lanes was completed, but problems were then discovered in the crash barriers[3] and subsequently the strength of the embankments supporting the road.