Sutton Road and Southchurch Road reopened on 13 August, the first stretch of Better Queensway handed back. The slip-road closures run on to late 2027.

Sutton Road and Southchurch Road are open again. Southend-on-Sea City Council confirmed on 13 August 2026 that both roads have been handed back to drivers and pedestrians, the first section of the Better Queensway rebuild to reopen since the phased closures started in March (Southend-on-Sea City Council).

The council was careful about what it was claiming. Some pavement areas are still being completed as part of the final finishing works, and it called the reopening “an important first milestone for the Queensway project, with further work continuing as part of the long-term transformation of the area”. If you have been avoiding the city centre since spring, this is one route back, not the end of the scheme.

Better Queensway: what reopened on 13 August and what has not Two panels. Open as of 13 August 2026: Sutton Road and Southchurch Road, with pavement finishing works continuing. Still closed or phased under the traffic order that began on 24 March 2026 and can run up to 18 months, to late 2027: the four Queensway slip roads at Porters Grange roundabout, the Lancaster Gardens stretch under night-time closures, and the suspended eastbound parking bays between Sutton Road and Nicholson House. Better Queensway: what is back, and what is not Southend-on-Sea City Council announcement and temporary traffic order, August 2026 OPEN from 13 August 2026 Sutton Road Southchurch Road Open to drivers and pedestrians. Some pavement areas are still being finished. STILL PHASED, to late 2027 Four Queensway slip roads, Porters Grange roundabout Lancaster Gardens, night closures Eastbound parking bays, Sutton Road to Nicholson House Order began 5am, 24 March 2026 and can run up to 18 months. Dates are signed on site. Source: Southend-on-Sea City Council, 13 August 2026, and the Better Queensway temporary traffic order. Graphic by Southend Today

What has not reopened

The traffic order behind the scheme began at 5am on 24 March 2026 and can run for up to 18 months, which takes it to late 2027. It closes all four Queensway slip roads at the Porters Grange roundabout in phases, handles the Lancaster Gardens stretch under night-time closures, and suspends the eastbound parking bays between Sutton Road and Nicholson House (council traffic order). The Southchurch Road eastbound closure between Porters Grange and Nicholson House was part of that same order, and it is the piece now lifted.

The practical consequence is that the corridor stays unpredictable. Slip-road phases change with little notice, and the signs on site are the authority, not any map you checked last week.

What the scheme is actually doing

Contractor Taylor Woodrow started on site on 8 December 2025. The council’s published scope for the highway works is to raise the sunken underpass to street level, reduce the roundabout in size, replace the unused footbridge with ground-level pedestrian crossings, install underground water storage to manage rainwater and cut flooding, and build cycle routes linking Victoria station to the seafront (council, November 2025). The flood tanks are not a detail: the first of them began arriving on site in July (council, July 2026).

The man who built the first one

The council used the reopening to mark the people who built the original Queensway in the 1970s, among them Ken Waller, a concrete finisher who worked on its construction around 1975 and whose daughter contacted the project team after growing up on his stories. He laid thousands of the cobbles that became a feature of the area, and he remembers the original bridge being lifted into place in a single operation by a crane brought down from Scotland.

“Working on Queensway felt like helping to create a new, modern future for Southend,” he said in the council’s statement. “What makes me most proud is that Queensway was built by hardworking people, from young apprentices to experienced tradesmen, all learning and building together. We weren’t highly paid workers, just ordinary people doing our best to create something that would serve the community for generations.”

Council leader Cllr Daniel Cowan said the reopening was a moment to “recognise the people who helped build the original Queensway”, and that “Ken’s story reminds us that this area has always been about creating opportunities and improving connections for residents”.

There is a quiet irony in the detail. Waller recalls residents needing encouragement to use the new underpasses when they opened, with site teams helping people adapt. Fifty years on, the current scheme is filling that underpass in and putting the crossings back at street level.

What it means for you

  • Sutton Road and Southchurch Road are usable again from 13 August, including on foot, though you may still meet pavement finishing works.
  • Do not assume the corridor is clear. The slip-road closures at Porters Grange continue in phases under an order that can run to late 2027.
  • Check before you travel if your route uses Queensway itself. Our Southend roadworks and travel page tracks every live closure in the city, including the Eastwood gas works and the Percy Road closure starting on 1 September.
  • Driving into town instead? The parking in Southend guide sets out which car parks and zones cost what.
  • The housing that follows this road layout, and the Local Plan that governs it, are covered in our Southend planning news.

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