Difficult decisions lie ahead. That was the message from a highways boss as the closure of the Army and Navy flyover in Chelmsford caused traffic chaos.

Commuters from across Essex were affected by the shutdown, due to continue until Friday morning for a survey of its current condition to be carried out.

Ron Williams, Essex County Council cabinet member for highways and transportation, apologised for the problems faced by motorists and admitted the council had received a lot of complaints.

But he stressed the flyover had to be closed for the work to be carried out. It would enable engineers to check the concrete decking and the steel support structures of the 20-year-old flyover.

"Safety is paramount," stressed Mr Williams. "We need to be able to remove sections of the structure to see how long it will last.

"If we did the work during the night, the noise would disrupt the sleep of the people living nearby. We chose half-term week because traffic would be lighter."

Following the Monday morning chaos, Mr Williams said they had looked at the traffic light system to see if the phasing could be changed to reduce the queues.

"Over the next 30 years, it is predicted traffic is going to increase by a third. The bridge is not going to meet the needs of the traffic very much longer.

We will need to improve the junction in the long-term but we are looking at five to ten years. We need to prolong the life of the flyover and keep it going as long as we can. But difficult choices will have to be made in the future."

Published Tuesday October 22, 2002

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