Gallows Corner is fully open and the diversions gone. The A12 slip at the M25 is shut, Ennerdale Avenue closes to Friday, no Fenchurch Street trains Sunday.

Gallows Corner is fully open. Transport for London confirmed on Monday 21 September that the flyover and the roundabout have reopened in every direction and that all remaining traffic management and diversion routes have been removed. That ends eighteen months of closures at the junction.

This is our running guide to Romford roadworks and travel, updated on every visit. Below: the live closure on the A12 at the M25, the borough closures running this week, what has ended, why c2c is still on a drought timetable, Sunday’s Fenchurch Street closure, and what parking near the station involves. Everything is linked to its official source.

Check today’s closures first

Roadworks move faster than any page can, so these are the live sources worth bookmarking:

Gallows Corner: finished

TfL’s statement is unambiguous. “Gallows Corner flyover has fully reopened to all traffic,” and “all remaining traffic management and diversion routes have been removed” (TfL, 21 September 2026). Its travel advice page for the works now carries that one sentence and nothing else, and the live disruption record that had sat on TfL’s A12 feed since the works began has gone from it.

One thing has not changed yet. The flyover has carried a 20mph speed limit and a 7.5-tonne weight restriction since 10 September 2020, and TfL’s reopening statement says only that the new structure “will enable the removal” of them. It has not named a date. Until it does, the limits on the signs still apply.

The full story of the scheme, what it cost, why it ran a year past its published finish date and where the compensation question stands, is in our report on the reopening.

Live now: the A12 slip road at the M25

TfL’s A12 feed carries one closure in Havering this morning. The slip road from the A12 Colchester Road eastbound at the M25 junction is shut for junction improvement works. TfL’s record, TIMS-233925, opened on Monday evening, 21 September, was still active when we checked it this morning and is booked to run to Wednesday 23 September. TfL rates the impact as minimal and says to use an alternative route, with no reported delays on the diversion (TfL Unified API, A12 disruption feed).

That is the M25 junction 28 scheme at Brook Street, which gave the A12 its two-lane free-flow loop from the M25 anticlockwise. The loop has been open to traffic since 20 October 2025, but National Highways has never formally declared the scheme complete and its scheme page has not been updated since 2 March 2026, when it was still describing finishing work on the new layout. The pattern to expect is occasional signed overnight closures of individual slips rather than anything that touches a normal weekday drive.

Closed around the borough this week

Havering Council’s most recent statutory traffic notice was published in the Romford Recorder on 11 September 2026, signed by Imran Kazalbash, Director Environment. It can be read in full on the Public Notice Portal. No new Havering notice has been published since, checked this morning, so the list below is still the current one. Every closure ends earlier if the work finishes early.

Running today and later this week:

  • Trowbridge Road, Harold Hill: the entire length closed for carriageway maintenance, 08:00 to 16:00 today, Tuesday 22 September. Diversion via Gooshays Drive, Faringdon Avenue and Dewsbury Road.
  • Spenser Crescent, Upminster: closed from Hall Lane to its end for resurfacing, 08:00 to 17:00 today, the second of its two phases. Masefield Drive closes at its junction with Spenser Crescent, and parking enforcement is suspended in both. Diversion via Hall Lane and Masefield Drive.
  • Ennerdale Avenue, Elm Park: closed between Rosewood Avenue and Coniston Way for resurfacing, 08:00 to 17:00 daily from Wednesday 23 to Friday 25 September. Langdale Gardens, Ullswater Way and Kendal Croft all close at their junctions with it, and parking enforcement is suspended in all four roads. The main diversion is Rosewood Avenue, Wood Lane, Rainham Road and Coniston Way in both directions. (The notice spells the road “Ernderdale Avenue”; the street is Ennerdale Avenue, RM12.)
  • Argyle Gardens, Front Lane, Howard Road and St Mary’s Lane, Upminster: all on-street carriageway and footway parking banned on defined lengths of each, 12:00 to 21:00 on Wednesday 23 September, for the Coopers’ Company and Coborn School open evening. The bans run from St Mary’s Lane on Argyle Gardens as far as nos. 37 and 39, on Front Lane as far as Greenbanks, and on Howard Road as far as no. 114.
  • Lodge Court, Hornchurch: closed for carriageway widening and kerb line improvements until 17:00 on Friday 25 September, with parking prohibited between nos. 11 and 36. It then closes again for resurfacing between 09:30 and 15:00 on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 September, with parking prohibited along the whole road. No diversion route is given.

The first four are in Part 1 of the notice, which is the council’s proposal rather than its made order, so treat those dates as the plan rather than a certainty. Lodge Court is in Part 2, the made order.

What has ended. Dunstable Road in Harold Hill and the first phase of Spenser Crescent both ran on Monday 21 September. Fairlawns Close in Emerson Park closed on 18 September, and the pole testing on Hacton Lane in Hornchurch and Berwick Pond Road in Rainham ran on 17 and 18 September. None of them are carried forward here.

What we could not confirm today. Utility street works permitted since 11 September are not in the council’s latest notice, and neither one.network’s map nor the London roadworks register can be read automatically, so we have not listed them. Check the live map before you set off.

The council’s Beam Parkway scheme to remake New Road as a linear park is paused, not building: TfL has been unable to confirm its funding contribution and the council is investigating other options.

Trains: c2c is still on a drought timetable

c2c has been running an amended timetable since 17:06 on Tuesday 18 August. It is now in its sixth week, and National Rail has retitled the notice “until further notice” (National Rail service disruption notice, last updated 08:28 on Monday 14 September 2026).

The prolonged dry weather has dried out and shrunk the clay under the track. That has caused the track to drop in places and become uneven, so speed restrictions were imposed across the c2c network and the operator rewrote the timetable around them.

What that means at Upminster:

  • Trains towards London from Upminster depart at least six minutes earlier than normal.
  • Trains from London arriving at stations between Upminster and Shoeburyness arrive at least six minutes later than normal.
  • The amended timetable runs in journey planners up to and including Friday 2 October. National Rail adds that it is “not yet known what service will look like for c2c on Saturday 3 October and beyond”.
  • Short-notice cancellations on top of the amended timetable may not clear from journey planners until 24 hours ahead, so check on the day.
  • Speed restrictions stay until the ground conditions have recovered, which National Rail says can take some time.
  • Tickets are accepted at no extra cost on Greater Anglia between Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria in both directions.

Sunday 27 September is the engineering closure that matters here. All lines close between Fenchurch Street and Barking, so no trains run to or from Fenchurch Street that day. c2c services divert to Liverpool Street via Stratford, and a shuttle runs between Upminster and Grays via Ockendon. Tickets are accepted on the DLR and the Jubilee line between Stratford and West Ham, and on the DLR between Stratford, Limehouse and Tower Gateway (National Rail).

The Elizabeth line, at Romford, Gidea Park and Harold Wood, has no engineering closures announced at all for the next fortnight. TfL’s planned track closures document, published on Monday 21 September, lists no Elizabeth line or Liberty line work in the weeks of 21 to 27 September or 28 September to 4 October. The next weekend that affects Romford in that document is 28 and 29 November, when the Elizabeth line closes between Paddington and both Abbey Wood and Shenfield, and the Liberty line closes between Romford and Upminster. Our Romford to London train times page has the fares and journey times.

Buses: the SL12 is running

The Superloop SL12 started on Saturday 5 September, between Rainham, Ferry Lane Industrial Area and Gants Hill Station via Elm Park, Romford town centre and Newbury Park. It runs every 12 minutes on Monday to Saturday daytimes and every 15 minutes in the evenings and all day Sunday, operated by Stagecoach London with new electric double deckers (TfL, changes to bus routes).

The parking changes that made its Rainham terminus possible were made on 27 August and came into force on 31 August, four days before the first bus. The council removed the loading bay on Ferry Lane opposite Global House, banned loading and waiting there, put in a bus stop and stand, and added two more bus stops on Lamson Road near the Ferry Lane junction (Havering Council order notice, published 28 August 2026).

Routes 86, N86 and 498 also changed the stops they use in Romford town centre on 5 September. Our guide to the SL12 lists every stop.

The key routes, for orientation

  • A12 (Eastern Avenue / Colchester Road): the borough’s spine, London-bound to Wanstead and the M11, Essex-bound to the M25 at junction 28. A TfL red route, so incidents appear on TfL’s status pages.
  • A127 (Southend Arterial Road): east out of Gallows Corner towards the M25 at junction 29 and Southend. Also a red route.
  • A118 (London Road / High Road): the old main road through Romford town centre towards Ilford, and the usual local alternative when the A12 clogs.
  • A125 (Rush Green Road / South Street): the north-south line through the town centre towards Dagenham.
  • A1306 (New Road): the Rainham corridor, serving Beam Park and the riverside industrial areas.

When the A12 fails, the pressure lands on Ardleigh Green Road, Gubbins Lane and the A118 almost immediately. Those were the roads carrying the Gallows Corner diversions for most of the last eighteen months, and they have their capacity back.

Parking: the station has none, the town centre has plenty

Romford station has no car park at all. National Rail’s station page lists no parking spaces, just a drop-off point and cycle storage, so park-and-ride here means using a town-centre car park and walking to South Street. The realistic options:

  • The Brewery: 1,767 spaces across the surface and multi-storey car parks, ANPR ticketless, open 24 hours. Evenings are a £2 flat rate from 7pm to 7am, and Sundays are free in the multi-storey (The Brewery parking page).
  • The Liberty: an 800-space multi-storey with a £7.50 all-day offer on weekdays (standard tariff £2.40 for up to two hours, rising to £15 for 8 to 24 hours), free on Sundays, plus Tesla superchargers (The Liberty parking page).
  • The Mercury Mall: 1,000 spaces over two levels off Western Road, £1.20 for up to two hours, £10 over eight hours, free on Sundays, two hours free for Asda customers spending £5 or more (Mercury Mall parking page).
  • Council car parks: Havering runs nine car parks in and around Romford, including Angel Way, Como Street and the 160-space Market Place car park, all taking RingGo cashless payment. Note the council’s own catch: in the Romford, Hornchurch and Upminster town-centre and station-area car parks, the first 30 minutes are not free, unlike the rest of the borough. Full detail on our parking in Romford page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Gallows Corner open now?

Yes, in every direction. TfL confirmed on 21 September 2026 that the flyover and the roundabout have fully reopened and that all remaining traffic management and diversion routes have been removed. The 20mph speed limit and 7.5-tonne weight restriction on the flyover, in place since September 2020, have not been formally lifted and TfL has not said when they will be.

Which roads are closed in Havering this week?

Trowbridge Road in Harold Hill and Spenser Crescent in Upminster on Tuesday 22 September, Ennerdale Avenue in Elm Park from Wednesday 23 to Friday 25, and Lodge Court in Hornchurch until Friday 25 and again on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29. Parking is also banned around Argyle Gardens, Front Lane, Howard Road and St Mary’s Lane in Upminster between 12:00 and 21:00 on Wednesday 23 for a school open evening. All except Lodge Court are Part 1 proposals in the council’s 11 September notice, so the dates are the plan rather than a made order.

Are there trains to Fenchurch Street on Sunday?

No. All lines close between Fenchurch Street and Barking on Sunday 27 September. c2c services divert to Liverpool Street via Stratford and a shuttle runs between Upminster and Grays via Ockendon. Tickets are accepted on the DLR and the Jubilee line between Stratford and West Ham.

Why are c2c trains running to different times?

The drought has dried and shrunk the clay under the track, the track has dropped and become uneven, and speed restrictions are in place. Trains from Upminster towards London leave at least six minutes earlier than normal, and trains from London arrive at least six minutes later. The published version of that timetable now runs to 2 October, and National Rail says the notice applies until further notice.

Is the M25 junction 28 scheme finished?

The free-flow loop from the M25 anticlockwise onto the A12 eastbound has been open since 20 October 2025. National Highways has not formally closed out the scheme and last updated its scheme page on 2 March 2026. The A12 Colchester Road eastbound slip at the junction is closed for junction improvement works until 23 September.

Where can I check live roadworks in Havering?

The council points residents to one.network’s live map for street works and TfL’s status pages for the A12 and A127. Havering does not subscribe to one.network’s future-works service, so upcoming works can be missing from the map until they start. Its own statutory notices, published in the Romford Recorder and on the Public Notice Portal, are the legal record.

Does Romford station have a car park?

No. National Rail lists no parking at Romford station. The Brewery, the Liberty and the Mercury Mall between them hold over 3,500 spaces within a short walk, and all three are free on Sundays.

Sources

Closures change at short notice, and the short-dated works listed above will roll over within days. Check the live sources before you travel. Last checked 22 September 2026.