Another early start and tiresome traffic delays

Monday was a 5am start (4th early start in 11 days) and today was a 5.45am start to get S to the station.    Not exactly what I would call a lie in.  Still holidays have a way of messing with the diary and the public versus private sector job juxtaposition in this household has its own idiosyncrasies.  For example; I take one week, S takes two weeks.  I take two weeks, S takes three weeks.  

To be entirely fair, S does work some really stupid hours on, not infrequent, occasions.  It also helps to make things easier given our particular circumstances so I shouldn’t complain (too much).  In addition, this time whilst off, S has replaced the non functioning extractor fan in the bathroom and the increasingly rusty/off coloured towel rail.  That is a start against our jointly agreed ‘to do’ list for 2026 and even I can’t argue against that.  

What I can complain about is that yesterday evening it took me 52 minutes to drive a diversion around Gallows Corner which Google tells me should take 14 minutes, is 3.4 miles and could be walked in 54 minutes.  For anybody that doesn’t know of Gallows Corner (and I believe there may be people out there I haven’t met and told all about it since this Transport for London/Costain nightmare started last June) Gallows Corner is a roundabout on the Essex side of Romford where the A12 joins with the A127 (and a couple of other roads).  It has/had a flyover which, I understand, was put in place by the Royal Engineers over a long weekend approx 50 years ago with the expectation it would last 15 years.  Granted, by the time Gallows Corner was closed last June and the flyover taken down it was in a bad way but was still being used.  The new one was supposed to be going up and the roundabout re-opened by 29 September last year.  

The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that the September deadline has passed.  Indeed, it might be considered ancient history by now for some species.  I have heard stories of water main issues and shale.  Did no one do a survey?  They had 35 years to get round to it since the expected life span expiry of the flyover.  Even by my world class standard of procrastination that is going some.   

I would have been all for them getting the Army back in to do it as I believe many, many others would also.  Problem is, of course, that the armed forces are being stretched a little thin these days and funding is a bit light to expect them to bail out infrastructure projects, cover strike action, pandemic testing, additional civil security, train and support others around the world and deal with the small matter of national defence.  I’m sure there is other stuff they do but……..

Apparently, there is no new opening date but Transport for London (TfL) are ‘targeting’ spring 2026.  Hmmmmm …….  is all I can say.

Meanwhile I do a diversion route each way once a week.  So many must have to do the return trip daily, local business must be suffering badly as a result of people avoiding the area if at all possible.  The diversions I have taken are through residential areas.  Even discounting the additional noise the residents must be being subjected to and accepting the ULEZ expansion zone covers part of this route the level of slow moving traffic cannot be good for air quality which was City Hall’s argument for the ULEZ extension in the first place.  

We are frequently treated to the strap line “To the Mayor of London and TfL every journey matters”.  After all these months of bonnet to bumper misery it is sounding rather hollow to me.