Essential roadworks on A406 Southend Rd this summer

22 Jul 2014 11:56 AM

Essential road improvement work to the A406 Southend Road this summer - drivers advised to plan ahea 

• Work to take place during the summer until mid-October when traffic levels are significantly lower, helping to reduce impact on road users
• Majority of work will take place overnight and at weekends to minimise disruption, however there will be no closures on Sundays
• Drivers are advised to regularly check before they travel at tfl.gov.uk/driving as closure times will vary throughout the project    

As part of Transport for London (TfL)'s work to maintain and modernise London's major roads, essential work to the A406 Southend Road in north east London will take place from 25 July until mid-October.  

The existing carriageway surface of the A406 Southend Road between Waterworks Roundabout and Charlie Browns Roundabout requires essential maintenance work to resurface the carriageway and improve the concrete road base. This work will ensure the road can continue to serve the area for years to come and will provide a better road surface, helping to reduce noise and the need for frequent maintenance in the future.  

Drivers will be affected by a number of different closures between Waterworks and Charlie Brown's roundabouts at certain times between 25 July and 19 October 2014. Throughout the work road closures will not be in place on Sundays.

From Friday 25 July to 18 September, work will take place on the eastbound carriageway, with closures of the A406 on Friday and Saturday nights (between 22:00 - 08:00) and lane restrictions, including slip lane closures, on Saturday daytime and Monday and Tuesday nights.

From Friday 19 September until mid-October work will take place on the westbound carriageway, with closures of the A406 on Friday and Saturday nights (between 22:00 - 08:00) and lane restrictions including slip lane closures on Saturday daytime and Monday and Tuesday nights.  

Drivers are advised to regularly check online at tfl.gov.uk/driving to check whether their journey will be affected by these works, to allow extra time for their journeys and, where possible, to change their routes to avoid any disruption.  

However, there will be no work taking place on 9 and 10 August (the weekend of Prudential RideLondon) or across the August Bank Holiday weekend to help minimise disruption. The work has been coordinated to minimise disruption and avoid clashes with the ongoing work currently taking place at the nearby Fore Street Tunnel. TfL will be carrying out as much work as it can at night to ensure it can be completed as quickly and with as little disruption as possible.

The essential refurbishment work has been phased and coordinated to start during the summer when traffic levels are significantly lower, helping to reduce the impact on road users.  

Bus route 123, which runs along the A406 Southend Road, will also be diverted from the start of the work until the end of service on certain nights. Information will be readily available at local bus stops and on tfl.gov.uk/journeyplanner.   

To help local residents and businesses prepare, TfL has worked with key partners, including the local boroughs, and has written to local residents, businesses, local transport groups and other stakeholders. Variable messaging signs will be placed on the roadside advising drivers of the closures and information is being shared with affected residents and other road users in a variety of ways - including emails, TfL's website and real-time updates through the @tfltrafficnews Twitter feed.  

Garrett Emmerson, Chief Operating Officer for Surface Transport at TfL, said: "While there is obviously no perfect time to close an essential road for maintenance, this vital work will ensure that the road can remain in a good condition for years to come. Once completed, it will reduce the need for future work, while ensuring traffic can continue to flow on a quieter, smoother carriageway."  

To find out more about how TfL is working to improve the capital's roads, please visit tfl.gov.uk/driving 

• The work will be carried out by Ringway Jacobs who are part of the London Highway Alliance - tfl.gov.uk/highways-alliance
• London's roads account for 80 per cent of all journeys and 90 per cent of all goods moved in the capital. As the engine of the British economy, London's population is set to grow by almost 2 million to 10 million by 2031 - equivalent to absorbing the population of both Birmingham and Leeds
• This is a continual challenge in a city with a road network that developed organically and was never designed for so much traffic. To meet the challenge, the Mayor and TfL are investing more than £4 billion in improving London's roads, streets and urban realm for all road users, residents and businesses during the next decade
• This investment will see London undergo a major transformation of its road network. As part of its work to deliver the recommendations of the Mayor's Roads Task Force, major redesigns of junctions including Elephant and Castle, Archway and Vauxhall will be delivered, improving the look and feel of the locations and creating new open places for Londoners. New segregated cycle lanes will be installed across London, providing safer routes for the thousands of people taking to two wheels every day
• To help deliver this wider programme of work, TfL has already begun to expand its innovative SCOOT technology, which can change traffic signal timings based on traffic levels second by second; most of the key junctions in the area of these essential maintenance work already operate using SCOOT technology. Hundreds of staff are already working 24/7 to monitor the road network from TfL's traffic control centre. They will use London's intelligent traffic light technology to help keep traffic moving around these planned road closures, as well as keeping road users up-to-date on traffic conditions
• For more information about work currently underway at Fore Street Tunnel please visit: tfl.gov.uk/forestreettunnel