The other day i delivered in chelmsford, i was meant to ask this a while back but forgot all about it, just before the roundabout next to the travelodge headinging A12 direction there is a fly over that by-passes the roundabout.
i remember the first time i came across it and it said it was closed i thought even if it was open i’d stick to the roundabout 
. as it looks barely wide enough for a car let along a truck 
I’ve been to chelmsford many times before always at 5am and never seen anybody on it as its always been closed but the other day reminded me to ask about it.
whats its there for? emergency services use in peak time??
anybody been daft enough to try it in there truck 
this is it i think.
cheers
CC
his flyover was built years ago to ease the traffic at peak times, they are now realising that it should have been built with two lanes. It operates in either direction to get people into and out of town, it is controled by the signs on either side. If the no entry signs were showing going out of town then it would be allowing cars in from the bypass which is normally the case. Taking a truck over it is not a good idea, it has cameras on it and the flyover has a bend in the middle which I think would get a lorry stuck.
There have been accidents where vehicles have gone the wrong way over it.
The famous Army & Navy, named after a pub that stood where th Travelodge is.
I think it’s been there about 30 years now, not bad for a temporary structure.
It is a ‘tidal flow’ arrangement that is used for Northbound traffic coming into Chelmsford in the morning up to about mid afternoon. Then the lights start flashing and the signs change to closed. It stays closed in both directions for several minutes before the lights start flashing the other end and reopens for traffic heading out of town. It is controlled automatically / remotely from Police HQ (IIRC) and always changes at the same times, they did alter the timings a few years ago and for a couple of weeks or so they shut it for about half hour or so every change so that there would be no mistimed accidents. It can also be manually controlled.
It is for cars and motorbikes only (round blue signs) but I have seen the occasional Transit sized taxi go across.
It seems to manage OK and has only had a few accidents although it did gain a fatality a few years back.
Sometimes in the morning the queue of traffic waiting to cross it in the right lane of the bypass is about a mile long, It’s quite possble to stay in the nearside lane and get round the roundabout quicker than the traffic that queued for the flyover.
8wheels:
The famous Army & Navy, named after a pub that stood where th Travelodge is.
You mean its not still there? 
Tell me, where do the young people of Chelmsford and the surrounding area go for their underage drinking and terrible live music now?
Had my 1st pub pint there and my first, er, aquaintance with a girl in the car park there. Guess that must have been 14 years ago now mind you.
Dunno where they go Hammer, It’s been a while since I’ve been a young person and my kids are not quite old enough for underage drinking yet.
The pub stopped being a venue a few years back and was breifly rejuvenated as a sports bar type pub. Then it closed, and Gards timber yard next door sold up and they flattened the lot.
Now look what’s happened, I just collected my son from Scouts and just had to drive over it despite it taking me beyond my house. I reckon you could get a truck over it without too many problems, other than the legal issues.
That used to be the main A12! Through to Brentwood. You should have seen the Army and Navy before the flyover, what a bloody nightmare 
Though in those days there were several large factories in the area, Marconi, Hoffmans (RHP), Crompton Parkinson and several lesser ones all trying to use that roundabout to get out of the godforsaken place, now it’s a doddle but it still has it’s moments even with the flyover there. I remember the congestion well when they were building the thing, god knows how many houses were demolished and yet still single carriageway? Of course now the A12 goes right past the place. At least the one at Gallows Corner had two-way traffic! I’m not sure I’d take an artic over it though, more than likely ground the trailer. I know there have been some comings together on there but I don’t recall artics trying to use it.
‘Crazytrucker’
By the way it wasn’t that bad a boozer in the late 60’s early 70’s, saw some good bands there. Then there was the Lion and Lamb (The Animals), the Dolphin…! One street, Tindal Street in the town lost five pubs, two bookies and a couple of eating places all for the sake of progress when they built the new (then) shopping centre.
Hiya…do any of you lot remember the overpass that was in Bristol. after going past temple mead station you got
into the right hand lane and up the flyover then it had 2 bends at the top over the roundabout and you came down
on the bedminster side of town. that was tight for a artic. one morning three 45 ft ers all went over one after the
other all loaded. the structure looked flimsy on a good day but i needed to go over.
John
i know the flyover in chelmsford as said been there for yrs but never seen anything big go over. the one in bristol was of the same build and had 2 bends in it and you could just fit a artic over it alas it was taken down about ten yrs ago to help traffic flows. it went so close to the h.otel you could see into the rooms
Cruise Control:
‘…anybody been daft enough to try it in their truck…’
I took my C+E lessons & test in Chelmsford (Stevand at Battlesbridge, bless 'em) and took in every tight place within 20 miles of the place - but never over the A&N flyover.
Keith
Happy Keith:
Cruise Control:
‘…anybody been daft enough to try it in their truck…’
I took my C+E lessons & test in Chelmsford (Stevand at Battlesbridge, bless 'em) and took in every tight place within 20 miles of the place - but never over the A&N flyover.
Keith
i did all 3 of my licences with them 
i know chelmsford like the back of my hand now!!!
Quite apt the Stevand connection, like the pub they have been condemned to the history books.