TfL shuts the whole Romford junction from 10pm on Friday 18 September to 5am on Monday, then plans to reopen the A127 pinch point fully by the end of the month.

The junction at the London end of the A127 is about to shut completely, and then, if Transport for London’s plan holds, open fully for the first time since the flyover rebuild began.

Transport for London will close the whole of Gallows Corner, roundabout and flyover, to all vehicle traffic in every direction from 22:00 on Friday 18 September until 05:00 on Monday 21 September (TfL travel advice). The junction is at Romford, about twenty miles west of Southend, and it is where the A127 Southend Arterial Road meets the A12.

The bigger news is what follows it. TfL says Essex and Suffolk Water “has completed its final works”, and that the entire junction is now “planned to fully reopen to general traffic by the end of September 2026, with all diversions and traffic management removed from this date” (TfL project page).

That is the first reopening date the scheme has carried in months. As recently as last week the same page promised only that the water company would hand the site back “by the end of August 2026”. That deadline had already passed. TfL said then that it would name a reopening date “as soon as possible”.

The two closures, in order

When What is closed
22:00 Thu 17 Sep to 05:00 Fri 18 Sep The flyover, to all vehicles. The roundabout stays partly open, with access to the A12 Colchester Road eastbound only, and Straight Road and Main Road in both directions.
22:00 Fri 18 Sep to 05:00 Mon 21 Sep The whole junction, roundabout and flyover, to all vehicle traffic.

Over the weekend closure, TfL says there will be:

  • no vehicle journeys through Gallows Corner in any direction
  • no access to or from the A127 Southend Arterial Road and the A12 Colchester Road to the A12 Eastern Avenue or the A118 Main Road
  • a local diversion route in place

TfL’s standing advice through this scheme has been that longer westbound journeys should re-route via the M25 and use the M11 and A13. For a Southend driver heading into London that weekend, the A13 is the practical alternative.

Four bus routes run through the junction, and TfL has been warning of delays of around three to five minutes on them: the 174, 496, 498 and 499.

Why the work has taken so long

The flyover was built in the 1970s, carries the A127 over a five-arm roundabout, and TfL describes it as “in very poor condition and in urgent need of renewal”. Speed and weight restrictions have been in place on it for years to keep it safe.

The project renews and replaces every element of the structure except the foundations. TfL says the strengthened flyover will allow those speed and weight restrictions to be removed, and the scheme also adds new pedestrian and cycle crossings and resurfaces the roads. It is part-funded by the Department for Transport and the Mayor of London.

The complication was underground. TfL let Essex and Suffolk Water replace an old water main at the same time, to avoid digging the junction up twice. The water works then ran long: damage to the newly installed main was found after the first installation phase, and the repairs pushed the handback date back repeatedly.

The junction has been partially open for some months, with the flyover carrying eastbound traffic towards the A127 and the A12 southbound restricted to buses. That is still the position until the full reopening.

What is left is finishing work. TfL says its contractor Costain has started the final reinstatement and resurfacing, is completing the carriageway works on the A127 and A12, and will then do the white lining and commission the new pedestrian crossings. That is what the overnight and weekend closures are for.

The same weekend, the railway east of Leigh also shuts

If you were planning to leave the car at home instead, that will not help you on 19 and 20 September. There are no trains between Leigh-on-Sea and Shoeburyness across the whole of that Saturday and Sunday, with replacement buses on that section (c2c service alterations).

Trains start and terminate at Fenchurch Street and Leigh-on-Sea. c2c says season ticket holders may instead travel on Greater Anglia between Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street, and that tickets are accepted on the Jubilee line between Stratford and West Ham.

So both the usual road route and the usual rail route out of Southend are out at the same time. Southend Victoria and Greater Anglia is the one way into London that is unaffected.

What it means for you

  • Thursday 17 September, overnight: the flyover is shut from 22:00 to 05:00. The roundabout is partly usable.
  • Friday 18 to Monday 21 September: nothing goes through Gallows Corner at all. Allow a long detour, or use the A13.
  • Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September: no trains east of Leigh-on-Sea either. If you must get to London, use Southend Victoria.
  • By the end of September: TfL plans to reopen the whole junction, lift every diversion and remove the traffic management. Expect the first week or two to be busy while drivers go back to their old routes.
  • Dates on this scheme have moved before. TfL says project deadlines may be extended if weather causes delays, so check its travel advice page before you set off.

Our Southend roadworks and travel page carries everything else that is closed in the city this fortnight. Our Southend train times to London guide has the routes and journey times for when the engineering work is over.

Sources