Editing Chelmsford (section)

==Transport==
===Railway===
[[File:Chelmsfordstation2008.JPG|thumb|Chelmsford station entrance]]

The [[Eastern Counties Railway]] arrived in Chelmsford in 1842. Owing to the geography of the city, three viaducts were constructed: the longest of which has 18-arches through [[Central Park, Chelmsford|Central Park]]; the station is at the end of the second viaduct; and the third is at the River Chelmer, Springfield. The current  station dates from around 1885.

[[Greater Anglia]] operates all services at [[Chelmsford railway station]]:<ref>{{Cite web |work=Greater Anglia |title=Timetables |date=2 June 2024 |access-date=28 August 2024 |url= https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/timetables |quote=}}</ref>
* Southbound services operate to [[London Liverpool Street]], via {{rws|Shenfield}} and {{rws|Stratford}}
* Northbound services run to [[Colchester railway station|Colchester]], [[Ipswich railway station|Ipswich]], [[Clacton-on-Sea railway station|Clacton-on-Sea]], [[Harwich International railway station|Harwich]], [[Braintree railway station (England)|Braintree]] and [[Norwich railway station|Norwich]], via the [[Great Eastern Main Line]]. 

Around 14,000 commuters each day travel to Liverpool Street by train, making Chelmsford one of the busiest non-terminus stations outside London.

===Buses===
The current bus terminal in Duke Street is the focal point of services in the city. It replaced the ageing 1930s bus station in March 2007 with shops, apartments and a covered roof for passengers.

Routes are operated by the following companies:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stops in Chelmsford |url=https://www.bustimes.org/localities/chelmsford |website=Bustimes.org |access-date=28 August 2024}}</ref>
* [[First Essex]] is the primary operator, running many routes around the city and beyond including to Basildon, Billericay, Braintree, Colchester, Maldon and Southend. It also operates the [[Essex Airlink|X10/X30 ''Essex Airlink'']] to [[Stansted Airport]]. There are a variety of [[school bus]]es serving the city and surrounding areas.
* [[Arriva Colchester]] operates a single service, the 59 route, to [[Harlow]], via [[Roxwell]], [[The Rodings]], [[Hatfield Heath]] and [[Old Harlow]].
* Other bus companies serve the area including [[Stephensons of Essex]] and [[Hedingham & Chambers]].

Outside of peak times, many of these services are run under contract to [[Essex County Council]].

Essex County Council's Highways and Transportation Department have considered constructing a ''Bus Rapid Transit System'' to be built serving the Beaulieu Park/Springfield Area because of the increasing demand for Rapid Transit Plans in Ipswich, Colchester and Southend.

Chelmsford has a [[park & ride]] service at nearby [[Sandon, Essex|Sandon]], just off junction 18 of the A12; it runs Monday to Saturday, with a capacity of 1,200 cars. Opened in March 2006, it has proved highly successful and is used widely.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.essexhighways.org/Public-Transport/Park-and-Ride/Chelmsford-Park-and-Ride/Sandon-park-and-ride.aspx |title=Sandon Park and Ride &#124; Essex County Council |access-date=20 April 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019133301/http://www.essexhighways.org/Public-Transport/Park-and-Ride/Chelmsford-Park-and-Ride/Sandon-park-and-ride.aspx |archive-date=19 October 2013}}</ref>

A second service, known as the ''Chelmer Valley Park and Ride'', was opened on the A130/A131 to the north of the city near [[Little Waltham]] in April 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home/news/park_and_ride_open.html |title=Chelmer Valley Park and Ride is now open – News – Anglia Ruskin University |website=anglia.ac.uk |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408153232/http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home/news/park_and_ride_open.html |archive-date=8 April 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Road===
{{original research|section|date=January 2012}}
The [[A12 road (England)|A12]] trunk road, which connects [[east London]] and [[Lowestoft]], was originally built by the [[Roman Britain|Romans]] to connect London and [[Colchester]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.essexcc.gov.uk/vip8/ecc/ECCWebsite/dis/cha.jsp?channelOid=114620 |title=Essex County Council |publisher=Government of the United Kingdom |access-date=21 April 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It used to run through the city, until the £34.8m nine-mile (14&nbsp;km) bypass around the east opened in November 1986. Despite being notorious for frequent congestion, poor road surfaces, potholes and accidents, many people move to Chelmsford for it being so well connected by road and rail. 

The [[A414]] trunk road between [[Hemel Hempstead]] and [[Maldon]] is a main road into the city, just off the A12, and links the city to junction 7 of the [M11] motorway in the west, near Harlow. 

The [[A130 road (England)|A130]] provides a link to the [[A127]] and [[A13 road (England)|A13]], while the [[A131 road (England)|A131]] passes through smaller towns and villages. The nearest motorway is the M25 ''London Orbital'' at J11 of the A12, 14 miles away, near Brentwood.

In the south-west of the city centre, the A138 meets the A414 at the Army and Navy roundabout which is notorious for its traffic congestion:
* Traffic lights were tried to improve matters in the early 2000s, but that scheme was abandoned after a short while; however, some of the lights were recommissioned for early morning and evening part-time use in 2009. 
* The recently-built bus lane on the A1114 Great Baddow bypass, and priority to traffic using it, has meant traffic queues approaching the roundabout can now be over {{convert|1|mi|km|abbr=on}} long during peak periods. 
* The roundabout is known as the ''Army and Navy'' even though the public house and music venue from which the junction got its name has long been demolished. 
* Until 2019, the junction had an unusual bi-directional flyover (in a similar manner to the [[Hogarth Roundabout]] in [[Chiswick]]); it was open for city-bound traffic westerly until 2.30&nbsp;pm each day and then easterly out of the city after 2.30&nbsp;pm. The Army and Navy roundabout flyover was condemned as unsafe and was permanently closed in September 2019 by [[Essex County Council]] with demolition works taking place in February/March 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.essexhighways.org/highway-schemes/a1060-a1114-army-and-navy-flyover-chelmsford.aspx |title=A1060 / A1114 Army and Navy Flyover Chelmsford &#124; Essex County Council |access-date=1 March 2020 |archive-date=1 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301052402/https://www.essexhighways.org/highway-schemes/a1060-a1114-army-and-navy-flyover-chelmsford.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Construction of the £32 million replacement A138 Chelmer Viaduct road, which connects Chelmer Village Way roundabout to the Army and Navy roundabout, began in February 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/a138-chelmsford-replacement-of-chelmer-viaduct/|title=A138 Chelmsford – Replacement of Chelmer Viaduct|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom|access-date=19 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004201001/http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/a138-chelmsford-replacement-of-chelmer-viaduct|archive-date=4 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The new bridge replaced the previous structure, built in 1932, which was demolished in 2016.
* On 15 January 2024, final plans were announced for the £81m Army and Navy sustainable transport package by Essex County Council including a so-called 'hamburger' roundabout due for completion by 2028.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-67984569 | title=Army and Navy roundabout: Final plans revealed to residents | publisher=BBC News | date=15 January 2024 }}</ref>

Since 2 September 2013, to save money and reduce carbon emissions, many streets lights in the Chelmsford district switched over to Essex County Council's part-night street lighting scheme. This involves most street lights being switched off between 1:00&nbsp;am and 5:00&nbsp;am<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.essexchronicle.co.uk/Streetlights-partially-turned-night/story-26221541-detail/story.html|title=Streetlights in Essex to be partially turned back on at night|work=Essex Chronicle|access-date=4 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731005534/http://www.essexchronicle.co.uk/Streetlights-partially-turned-night/story-26221541-detail/story.html|archive-date=31 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> (Tuesday to Sunday) with exceptions such as the city centre area, key road junctions, some [[pedestrian crossing]]s and known accident sites;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.essexhighways.org/Transport-and-Roads/Roads-and-Pavements/Street-lighting/Part-night-lighting.aspx|title=Part night lighting – Essex County Council|work=essexhighways.org}}</ref> on Monday mornings, the switch off is from midnight to 5:00&nbsp;am.

===Air===
Chelmsford is 25 to 30 minutes by road from Stansted Airport (via A130/A120); [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]], [[Gatwick Airport|London Gatwick]], [[London City Airport|London City]], [[Luton Airport|Luton]] and [[Southend Airport|Southend]] airports are all within reach by rail.

===Future transport plans===
[[File:Chelmsford North East Bypass.png|thumb|right|Map of route for the proposed new Chelmsford bypass]]

Proposals for a bypass of Chelmsford connecting the A12 interchange at [[Boreham]] (junction 19) and the [[A131 road (Great Britain)|A131]] were put forward for public consultation by [[Essex County Council]] in 2006; the preferred route was announced in March 2007. It comprises the creation of {{convert|7.9|km|mi|frac=16|abbr=on}} of two-lane dual carriageway and junctions connecting to the A12 and A131, it will sever 10 footpaths/bridleways and involve almost entirely greenfield construction.<ref name="ECC1">{{cite web
|url=http://www.essexcc.gov.uk/vip8/ecc/ECCWebsite/content/binaries/documents/Cabinet_Report_Chelmsford_N_E_Bypass_FINAL_VERSION.15-02-07.doc
|title=Cabinet Report Chelmsford NE Bypass
|publisher=[[Essex County Council]]
|access-date=18 November 2008
}}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The scheme was estimated to cost £138&nbsp;million in March 2007<ref name="ECC1"/> but was increased to an estimated range of £229  – £262&nbsp;million in February 2008.<ref name="ECC2">{{cite web
|url=http://www.essexcc.gov.uk/vip8/ecc/ECCWebsite/content/binaries/documents/Chelmsford_North_East_Bypass/Chelmsford_NE_Bypass_consultation_Jan_2008_-_Board_9.pdf
|title=Chelmsford NE Bypass consultation January 2008 – Board 9 |publisher=[[Essex County Council]] |access-date=18 November 2008}}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The scheme still requires funding and planning permission with applications timetabled for 2009–2011, a public inquiry timetabled for 2012 and with an estimated construction start date of 2014–2016.<ref name="ECC3">{{cite web
|url=http://www.essexcc.gov.uk/vip8/ecc/ECCWebsite/content/binaries/documents/Chelmsford_North_East_Bypass/Chelmsford_NE_Bypass_consultation_Jan_2008_-_Board_11.pdf
|title=When will the bypass happen?
|publisher=[[Essex County Council]]
|access-date=18 November 2008
}}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The Chelmsford North Action Group (NAG) objects to this scheme, stating that Chelmsford was to "be engulfed by huge motorways connecting the Channel Ports, via a new [[Lower Thames Crossing]], [[A130 road|A130]], on to Stansted, M11 and A14".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://a130-chelmsford.blogspot.com/|title=Chelmsford North Action Group (NAG)}}</ref>

A second railway station, to be called [[Beaulieu Park railway station|Beaulieu Park]], has been proposed to serve the new Beaulieu housing developments to the north-east of Chelmsford.<ref>[http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/beaulieustation Chelmsford City Council – North Chelmsford: Beaulieu Park Station] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104205205/http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/beaulieustation |date=4 January 2016 }} (Accessed 9 June 2014)</ref><ref>[http://www.essexchronicle.co.uk/Developers-pound-70m-infrastructure-deal/story-20799528-detail/story.html Essex Chronicle, 17 March 2014 – New homes plan for Chelmsford will see £70m boost to city] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712183932/http://www.essexchronicle.co.uk/Developers-pound-70m-infrastructure-deal/story-20799528-detail/story.html |date=12 July 2014 }} (Accessed 9 June 2014)</ref> Work began in January 2023 and the station is set to open in late 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 December 2023 |title=Work at new Beaulieu Park station hit 'critical milestone' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6p17p36838o |access-date=4 January 2024 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref>