Gallows Corner's westbound flyover stays closed while the water main is repaired, with handback due by the end of August. M25 J28 night works and parking.

Driving around Romford in August 2026 still means driving around Gallows Corner. The junction that ties the A12 to the A127 has been in works since March 2025, and although the eastbound flyover reopened in May, the westbound side is still shut with no confirmed reopening date. Here is exactly what is open and closed there, the other closures running in the borough this month, where the M25 junction 28 scheme has got to, and what parking near the station and town centre actually involves. Everything is linked to the official source so you can check the position on the day you travel.

Check today’s closures first

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

Gallows Corner: open eastbound, closed westbound

The state of play, from TfL’s scheme page and live status update as of 8 August 2026:

  • Open: the eastbound flyover (A12 Eastern Avenue East towards the A127), the roundabout onto the A12 Colchester Road eastbound, and Straight Road and Main Road in both directions. This is the layout in place since the partial reopening on Sunday 10 May 2026.
  • Still closed: the westbound flyover and the westbound A12 and A127 connections. The A12 southbound arm is bus-only. TfL advises long-distance westbound traffic to route via the M25, M11 and A13.
  • Why it is still closed: TfL’s own refurbishment of the flyover, everything renewed except the foundations, is finished. The block is Essex & Suffolk Water’s replacement water main under the junction: damage was found to the newly installed main, and the company is repairing it, with the site expected to be handed back to TfL by the end of August 2026. After handback, TfL needs a final run of night-time closures for resurfacing before full reopening. No full reopening date has been announced; TfL says it will provide one as soon as possible.

The knock-on effects are real but modest by the standards of last year: TfL’s live disruption feed lists three to five minutes of extra time for buses (routes 174, 496, 498 and 499) and traffic on Ardleigh Green Road, Gubbins Lane and Gooshays Drive, with extra peak pressure on the westbound A13 and the M11 southbound from diverted traffic.

Gallows Corner works: the timeline so far and the dates ahead Timeline. March 2025: flyover refurbishment begins. September 2025: original completion date missed. 10 May 2026: eastbound flyover reopens. August 2026: westbound still closed during water main repairs. End of August 2026: target for Essex and Suffolk Water to hand the site back to TfL. End of October 2026: Havering Council's deadline for full reopening. No confirmed full reopening date as of 8 August 2026. Gallows Corner: eighteen months of works, two dates to watch TfL scheme page, Havering Council statements and reporting, checked 8 August 2026 Mar 2025 Works begin Sep 2025 Original finish date missed 10 May 2026 Eastbound flyover reopens Aug 2026 Westbound shut, water main repairs End Aug 2026 Site handed back to TfL End Oct 2026 Council's reopening deadline Filled dots have happened; hollow dots are targets, not promises. Spacing is not to scale. TfL has not announced a full reopening date; night-time resurfacing closures follow the handback.
The works were originally due to finish in September 2025. The council has set TfL an end-of-October deadline to fully reopen the junction.

The saga has a political edge too. Around 2,000 residents petitioned for partial council tax refunds for every month the works ran past the original September 2025 finish, and Havering Council, while saying it legally cannot rebate council tax, has set TfL an end-of-October deadline to fully reopen the junction.

Closed around the borough this month

The named works running now, from the INRIX roadworks feed for the borough (via the Romford Recorder’s live listing), checked 8 August 2026:

  • Station Lane, Hornchurch: temporary traffic lights both ways at Mavis Grove for water main work, to 10 August.
  • Station Road, Chadwell Heath (on the Redbridge border): the one-way street closed between the A118 High Road and Back Lane, to 10 August.
  • Billet Road, Chadwell Heath: temporary lights between Whalebone Lane North and Kingston Hill Avenue for gas main work, to 9 August.
  • Magpie Lane, Little Warley (just over the Brentwood border): closed both ways between Bird Lane and Warley Gap for water main work, to 17 August.

Nothing beyond the Gallows Corner arms is currently listed on the A127 red route, and no works are running on the A1306 through Rainham. The council’s Beam Parkway scheme to remake that 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.

M25 junction 28: open, with finishing touches

The £140 million to £170 million M25 junction 28 improvement at the Brook Street roundabout gave the A12 its new two-lane free-flow loop from the M25 anticlockwise, and that loop has been open to traffic since 20 October 2025. National Highways has not formally declared the scheme complete, and finishing works still surface as occasional overnight closures: this week TfL’s disruption feed listed the A12 Colchester Road eastbound down to one lane approaching junction 28, 21:00 to 04:30 overnight on 7 and 8 August, for National Highways works. Expect more of the same pattern, overnight and signed, rather than daytime disruption.

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 Gallows Corner or the A12 fails, the pressure lands on Ardleigh Green Road, Gubbins Lane and the A118 almost immediately, so on a bad morning the quickest answer is often the Elizabeth line rather than a clever back route.

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.

Frequently asked questions

When will Gallows Corner fully reopen?

There is no confirmed date. As of 8 August 2026, Essex & Suffolk Water is due to hand the site back to TfL by the end of August, TfL then needs night-time resurfacing closures, and Havering Council has set an end-of-October deadline for full reopening. TfL has committed only to announcing a date “as soon as possible”.

What exactly is closed at Gallows Corner right now?

The westbound flyover and the westbound A12 and A127 connections, with the A12 southbound arm running bus-only. The eastbound flyover, the roundabout onto the A12 Colchester Road eastbound, and Straight Road and Main Road are open.

Is the M25 junction 28 scheme finished?

The new 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 finishing works still appear as occasional overnight lane closures on the A12 approach.

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.

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 (surface parking £1 at the Brewery).

Sources

Closures change at short notice, and the short-dated street works listed above will roll over within days. Check the live sources before you travel. Last checked 8 August 2026.