The Army and Navy Roundabout

The Army and Navy Pub

The Army and Navy Roundabout is a roundabout in Chelmsford, Essex.

The roundabout was built in 1932 with the opening of the original Chelmsford Bypass and is named after the pub which used to be on the site; however, this has since been demolished and replaced with a hotel and restaurant complex.

1975 Scheme A5

1975 Scheme B

By the late 1960s the bypass was one of the last remaining single carriageway sections of A12 in Essex and was struggling to handle the rising levels of traffic. The junction in particular had become a bottleneck and was by now surrounded by housing. The result of a public consultation in 1973 favoured a new southern bypass rather than upgrading the existing bypass. Despite this a public inquiry held in 1975 revealed some support for an improvement of the existing bypass and two of the objectors routes passing through the Army and Navy were studied in detail. These would have transformed the junction and resulted in demolition of many of the surrounding houses. The expected traffic flows meant there would have been a local access road running adjacent to the improved bypass to keep local and long distance traffic separate. Scheme B was favoured over Scheme A5 due to easier construction. An additional flyover carrying A130, now A1060 and A1114, over the roundabout was initially planned but this was later omitted and no maps showing it have been found. The inspector at the inquiry concluded that the existing bypass should be improved rather than constructing a new more southerly bypass despite the government supporting the latter.

The uncertainty surrounding what route an improved A12 should take meant there was an urgency to do something in the meantime to cope with the rapidly deteriorating traffic conditions at the roundabout. From 1976, it was partially grade separated with a single lane viaduct crossing between the A1060 (Parkway) and Essex Yeomanry way. The viaduct used a tidal flow system to reduce queuing at peak hours.

The flyover was closed in 2019, as the temporary structure - which had operated far longer than the expected design life, had finally deteriorated to a condition where it was deemed no longer safe for use. It was removed by March 2020.

2020/1 Junction Improvements

In November 2020, five options were identified for future changes to the junction. These were:

1. Minor Junction Improvements
2. Replacement two-way flyover
3. Hamburger Roundabout
4. Enlargement of Existing Roundabout
5. The Removal of the Roundabout and replacement with two signalised T junctions, staggered

By January 2021 the first two options had been discounted and in March 2022 it was reported that the hamburger roundabout option would be chosen.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A1114	Southend, Basildon (A130); Maldon (A414)	Essex Yeomanry Way (formerly A130)
A1114	Widford; London (A12); Harlow (A414)	Van Diemans Way (formerly A12)
A1060	Town centre	(formerly A414)
A138	Springfield; Harwich, Colchester (A12); Stansted, Sudbury (A130)	Chelmer Way (formerly A12)
B1009	Great Baddow, Galleywood

Videos

Army and Navy Flyover Removal

Full video showing the removal of the Army and Navy Flyover, Chelmsford. After being a feature of Chelmsford’s skyline for more than 40 years, works to remove the flyover over the Army and Navy Roundabout were completed in April 2020. Work started in February 2020 with the steel and concrete flyover taken down section by section before being transported away for dismantling and recycling. All 15 of the structure's spans were removed overnight to minimise traffic disruption, while the two ramps were broken up and removed during the day time to avoid excessive noise at night.

Watch video > >

Links

• Roads.org.uk: What goes up must come down  19.09.19 (archive.org)