Editing Chelmsford (section)

===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.