Absolute Chaos! Gallows Corner Closure Causes Havoc Across Havering

It’s being described by residents as “total street carnage” — the closure of Gallows Corner for refurbishment has brought Havering to a standstill.

Queues, tailbacks, and endless delays are now the daily reality for residents across the borough. While the public were warned about possible disruption, many say the scale of the chaos unfolding was grossly underestimated.

Lower Bedford Road has been backed up both ways all day long, with heavy goods vehicles now forced to use it as a through-road. Journeys that once took 20 minutes are now taking upwards of an hour, with traffic crawling across Romford, Harold Hill, Collier Row, and beyond.

Leigh, a childcare provider in Havering, shared her frustration at trying to do school runs, explaining: “It took me 80 minutes to do what should have been a 25-minute journey collecting children from Harold Hill and Collier Row. It’s madness.”

Another resident reported taking an hour to get from Elm Park to Harold Hill, while others described trying to access the A12 via Bedfords Road and Collier Row — a journey which also took well over an hour. Ardleigh Green lights were still backed up at 10pm, with one lane closed on the A127 creating more bottlenecks.

Parents are leaving earlier in an attempt to get their children to school on time, but many still arrive late. Anne told us of a nightmare journey on the 496 bus: “It took half an hour just to get from Royal Liberty School to Squirrels Heath roundabout, and it was gridlocked the entire way.”

From Romford Market to Gallows Corner Tesco? An hour. Straight Road to Ardleigh Green? An hour and twenty minutes, according to Isabell. Natalie reported that impatient drivers were now taking dangerous shortcuts to avoid the queues, leading to increased road rage and more stress for everyone on the roads.

Susan said: “The diversions aren’t suitable for this level of traffic. It’s clear not enough thought has gone into the planning of these works. It’s only day one and it’s already horrendous.”

Carol added that Havering Road has “become a car park overnight” with gridlock every morning and evening. In one incident, someone even smashed the wing mirror off her car amid the traffic chaos.

With no clear end in sight and months of work ahead, residents are left asking the same question: was this really the best plan? As traffic spills into side streets, causing congestion and danger in residential areas, many feel their borough has been thrown into disarray with little support or realistic mitigation in place.

The closure might be for improvement — but for now, it’s only brought misery. Havering’s roads are in meltdown, and drivers are stuck in the middle of it.

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