The full history of the ?14m Generals Lane Bridge near the A12 …
A long-awaited new curved bridge will finally open on Monday (October 30) near the A12 in Essex. The new Boreham Bridge will connect Boreham Interchange with the Beaulieu estate when it is opened.
The bridge was carefully lifted from the site of its construction to its final position over the railway line and A12 northbound slip road back in September and October 2022. Previous photos and videos showed the bridge in its developmental stage.[1][2]
The final stages of the £35m infrastructure project providing a relief road between the A12 and A130 have been taking place this weekend, following a delay of the opening from September 2023. Once connected to local Chelmsford roads, the bridge will be the longest curved multi-span bridge over land in England.
The new route will provide access to the planned Beaulieu train station - scheduled for completion by 2026. It has been a long journey to get to this point, so we decided to take a look back at how the project came about and why it is needed.
Building a transport network to support one of the UK's newest cities
Chelmsford is one of the UK’s newest cities and plays a vital role in the heart of Essex providing homes, jobs, shopping, healthcare, education, and leisure opportunities. Essex County Council said Chelmsford needs a transport network to match if it is to "properly facilitate" future development and economic growth.
County Hall, along with Chelmsford City Council and Network Rail, is behind schemes to deliver a North East Bypass of Chelmsford and a new railway station at Beaulieu. The transformational road and rail upgrade is being delivered with more than £218m in funding from the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, plus £34m of other funding from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership and developer Countryside Zest.
The new Boreham Bridge being installed in Chelmsford, Essex (Image: Benjamin Splarn)
The schemes will create important strategic road and rail links, providing the infrastructure needed to support planned housing and economic growth to the north of Chelmsford, notably Chelmsford Garden Community[5], which will deliver more than 10,000 new homes, one million square feet of new business space, schools, quality open spaces and community facilities. An outline planning application for 3,500 homes to form part of this community was submitted this week[6].
Building the north east bypass
The existing A130 between the Boreham Interchange and the A131 was originally built in the 1980s. In order to be fit for purpose, a new northeast bypass will create a "missing link" to the wider strategic network and help relieve traffic congestion in Chelmsford.
A proposed new northeast bypass was originally put forward in 2005. In 2008, the project was postponed because of insufficient funding, but the proposals were revisited and refreshed in 2015 following consultation with the Beaulieu Park developer and the public, resulting in minor changes to the proposed route.
In 2018, Chelmsford City Council consulted on its Local Plan, which included an updated safeguarded corridor for the proposed bypass. In 2020, the Chelmsford Local Plan was formally adopted and a public information event outlining the latest proposals for the Chelmsford North East Bypass was held.
A planning application for the proposed bypass was approved by Essex County Council's Development and Regulation Committee in April 2022. The scheme will connect to the new Beaulieu development in the south (joining a new relief road, known as Beaulieu Parkway, which will provide connectivity to the A12 at Boreham Interchange) and Deres Bridge and Great Leighs in the north, providing a vital link between the A120 and the A12.
A new 4.6km single carriageway bypass will be constructed through Bulls Lodge Quarry and join a new roundabout on the existing A131 at Chatham Green, with a 1.2km stretch of the existing A131 between Chatham Green and Deres Bridge also widened to a dual carriageway as part of the scheme.
A new segregated left turn lane will be created, connecting Main Road, Great Leighs, at Deres Bridge to the southbound carriageway of the A131. The bridge was put into place in the autumn of 2022, with brilliant time lapse footage capturing[7] how it was lowered in.
This weekend, there has been a full closure of the Generals Lane Roundabout at the Boreham Interchange and the A138 from the Toby Carvery Roundabout leading to the Boreham Interchange. It started at 8pm on Friday (October 27) and will finish at 5am on Monday (October 30). The bridge is then expected to open soon after.
References
- ^ bridge was carefully lifted from the site of its construction to its final position (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ Previous photos and videos showed the bridge in its developmental stage. (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ Huge £14m curved Boreham Bridge over A12 will open next week after many delays (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ Plans for 3,500 new homes, four schools and a nursery for the north of Chelmsford (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ Chelmsford Garden Community (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ was submitted this week (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ brilliant time lapse footage capturing (www.essexlive.news)