Hannah Richards, who lives in Glenton Way, is one of many residents who have experienced “serious” delays and disruptions to their daily routines after Gallows Corner started its full closure on Monday (June 23).
The mum told the Recorder that it took her an hour to drop her children, aged seven and eight, off at school on Tuesday – a journey that normally takes less than 10 minutes.
She usually then heads straight from school drop-off to work in Brentwood, but the closure meant she arrived at work at 10.15am instead of 9am.
READ MORE: Gallows Corner full closure: A127 business owner hits out at TfL
Traffic in neighbouring street Helmsdale Road (Image: Paul Farlam)
Hannah explained that, luckily, she has a “really understanding boss”, but is still concerned about how the closure will affect “every part” of her life.
She told the Recorder: “It affects everything.
“And I’ve been losing sleep over it for the past four or five weeks, knowing it was coming.
“But when I encountered it, I never thought it was going to be as bad as it is.
“It’s way worse than I expected. It’s a nightmare.”
Hannah’s road is near Lower Bedfords Road, which is one of many roads being used as a diversion route while Gallows Corner is closed.
She explained that she was woken up at 5.30am by cars and lorries driving along the street, despite it normally being “really quiet”.
READ MORE: Gallows Corner closure traffic updates as delays build
Her road is also narrow, with cars parked along on either side, meaning that lorries have been “getting stuck” when using the road as a cut through.
“The road is just too small,” Hannah said.
“I couldn’t get out of my road this morning because the big lorries and trucks are coming down roads they are not built for.”
A spokesperson for TfL said: “We’ve worked to minimise the impact of the work as much as possible and we’re very sorry for any disruption to local residents and businesses.
“Road closures are unfortunately necessary for this vital work to take place and we’re working hard to finish the complete renewal of the flyover by September.”
