Hornchurch and Upminster MP Julia Lopez will attend an online meeting on Monday 13 October with senior representatives from Transport for London (TfL), Essex & Suffolk Water (ESW) and the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, to press for answers on the Gallows Corner project. 

Both TfL and ESW had previously indicated that a revised programme for the works would be published by the end of September. ESW has since provided its input, but TfL has not yet issued an update to the public as it continues to review ESW’s information and align it with its contractor, Costain. 

While this work is ongoing, some progress is being made on site, with excavation activity now expected to begin as part of ESW’s diversion of a major water main. 

Julia said:  

“Residents and businesses have endured months of disruption and uncertainty. It is essential that we now receive a clear revised timeline for these works and that it is adhered to. I am hopeful that next week’s meeting will provide the answers people need and a credible plan for when normality will return.” 

Julia confirmed that she will continue to engage closely with both TfL and ESW until greater clarity and progress is secured. 

Most recent updates from TfL and E&SW are below: 

Essex & Suffolk Water:

Dear Ms Lopez,

Thank you for your email dated 16 September 2025, and for your continued engagement regarding the Gallows Corner infrastructure works. I appreciate the opportunity to respond formally to the concerns raised and to outline the actions Essex & Suffolk Water (ESW) is taking to support the successful delivery of this critical project. The content of this letter has been approved by Alastair Tawn, our Head of Integrated Delivery Services, and other senior colleagues, my role as Public Affairs Business Partner is to share the document on their behalf.

We fully recognise the strategic importance of the Gallows Corner flyover replacement scheme and the significant disruption that delays can cause to residents, businesses, public services, and the wider transport network. Please be assured that we take these concerns seriously and remain committed to working collaboratively with Transport for London (TFL), Costain, and London Borough of Havering (LBH) to minimise further disruption and deliver our works as efficiently as possible.

Background and Current Position & Coordination with TfL

Essex & Suffolk Water (ESW) have a large strategic water main within the supporting structure of the flyover and four smaller mains close by. As the flyover was originally meant to be temporary, these were not moved at the time of construction. However, the flyover renewal provides an opportunity to divert the main and is also a legal requirement to do so now. Diverting these mains now not only protects them from the heavy engineering of the flyover project itself, but allows them to be repositioned where they would cause significantly less disruption in the case of maintenance or repairs, ensuring a reliable and resilient supply of water for customers now and for generations to come.

Essex & Suffolk Water’s work is now focused on completing the diversion of the fifth main, the largest of the five. Works on the four smaller mains diversions are well underway and near completion.

The original plan had been to use a directional drilling technique, creating a bore wide enough to pull the new main through from one side of the junction to the other, without having to disrupt progress on the flyover activity and allowing both projects to take place concurrently. However, unforeseen ground conditions in the form of pockets of shale has been encountered and have caused significant engineering challenges. The presence of shale means that a tunnel cannot be formed as shale does not hold its shape to from a tunnel, preventing a pipe being pulled through.

The ground conditions also posed a risk to the flyover construction, eliminating the possibility of us pursuing a second, and deeper bore attempt.

A revised plan is currently being finalised, and every effort is being made to minimise further delays. We are actively exploring all available options to expedite works by deploying additional resources and extending working hours. These measures are aimed at optimising on-site productivity and ensuring that the remaining works are completed as safely and efficiently as possible.

With both projects requiring revisions to their original plans for already complex pieces of engineering, the teams from all parties are working closely and at pace, with daily site meetings among numerous weekly touch points, to ensure the new programmes align and can be delivered cohesively and safely, with the aim of minimising the additional delays from the extended timeline.

To ensure effective coordination, we hold weekly site meetings with Transport for London (TfL) and their contractor, Costain, where all activities are reviewed and aligned. In the event of any site conflicts, TfL retains responsibility for determining work sequencing and location. To date, we have not been informed of any issues arising from our works that would delay or disrupt TfL’s progress.

Public Briefing Note

A briefing note is being prepared which will outline what has happened and why, and the coordination with the flyover works and current progress.

Formal Programme Update

We anticipate confirming our revised programme by the end of September.

While we cannot commit to weekly meetings with LBH, we are committed to working with TFL to ensure regular updates to LBH and other stakeholders, as well as the public. This includes a commitment to provide more regular updates on our community hub starting with the briefing note when finalised. Project: Gallows Corner | Essex & Suffolk Water

Emergency Works and Community Impact

We acknowledge the concerns regarding recent emergency works on Lower Bedford’s Road. This was an unavoidable incident involving a burst main. Our crew was mobilised immediately upon receiving the 4:00am call, and the works were completed within 72 hours.

Traffic management was implemented in full compliance with LBH permit conditions, and the site was inspected by Highways Officers. We remain committed to 24-hour working where feasible and safe, and we are reviewing internal processes to reduce perceived inactivity during crew transitions and the reinstatement phases.

Improved Collaboration with TfL

ESW and TfL have worked very closely on this project throughout its planning and implementation. ESW maintains a transparent and solution focused working relationship with TfL, underpinned by regular bi-weekly coordination meetings. These sessions follow a clear agenda, with defined action points and shared knowledge and ownership of outcomes to ensure accountability and progress. In addition, daily site meetings at 4:00 PM provide an open forum for on-site teams to align effectively and address emerging issues in real time. Ad hoc meetings are convened as needed to further support and reinforce the efficient delivery of the project.

Independent Review

Engineering challenges are an inevitable part of complex projects. The team remains rightly focused on resolving these issues swiftly and collaboratively, and are working towards the completion. Post-project reviews are conducted to capture lessons learnt, enabling continuous improvement and informing best practices for future deliveries.

We understand the frustration caused by the delays and the wider implications for the borough. ESW remains fully committed to resolving these issues swiftly and constructively. I hope this response provides reassurance of our intent and progress, and I welcome continued dialogue to ensure we meet the needs of the community.

I hope this summary is helpful to you. Should you or your office require further information, we will soon be in touch regarding the meeting you requested and look forward to answering any further questions.

TfL Update:

Dear Julia,

Thank you for your continued patience regarding Gallows Corner.

Following the delay to works at Gallows Corner, we are working with Essex & Suffolk Water (ESW) and our principal contractor, Costain, to confirm an integrated programme for the works as quickly as possible. We have now received input from ESW, which we are reviewing and will need to align with Costain’s programme to ensure that any interdependencies are resolved and all the works completed as quickly as possible.

Planning a major multi-disciplined construction programme of this complexity takes considerable time and effort which we are collectively working to compress into a matter of weeks. We hope to be able to issue a further update in the next few weeks, including an indication of when we expect to be able to re-open Gallows Corner roundabout and flyover.

In the meantime, we are collectively continuing to progress work at the site, with ESW planning to begin excavation works later this week. We appreciate the disruption caused by this delay, and are doing all we can to minimise the programme, and inconvenience to the local community.

We wanted to invite you to an online meeting on Monday 13th October, 3pm – 4pm. The meeting will also be attended by senior TfL colleagues, Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance, Keith Prince AM, and we have extended the invite to Andrew Rosindell MP too. We cannot yet say whether we will have confirmed the forward programme by this time, but will be able to update you on progress and talk you through some of the challenges we are working to resolve here.

Please do let me know if you, or one of your officers, can attend and I will circulate a Teams link.