Gallows Corner has been an ongoing headache for the people of Romford, Harold Hill, Harold Wood and Hornchurch for decades!

This “temporary” junction flyover was installed over forty five years ago, with regular tail backs effecting whole of South West Essex and east London.

Ever since my election as MP for Romford, I have argued that this road junction needs to be made a special case for improvement and financed from our National Highways Budget. Quite frankly, TfL doesn’t have the financial resources or strategy to deal with major construction at Gallows Corner.

Earlier in the year, the frustration was made even worse when lacklustre proposals consisted of nothing more than a few new white lines and guidance markings.

This comes nowhere near meeting the simple request of traffic lights from many residents.

I have been campaigning on this issue for over a decade, having made it a priority for any potential London Mayoral candidate, and keeping it on the radar of Secretary of State for Transport and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

As we look to put the record of this accident hotspot behind us, a more permanent solution is required to reduce the frequent congestion.

On the national level, the government had earmarked £100million to improve a small number of selected roads – but local representatives such as Keith Prince AM and myself found such money didn’t include Greater London as that is solely down to TfL to deal with within their budget.

Having highlighted the National Highways Budget and the need to direct action from the government in the House of Commons, I am extremely happy to see Gallows Corner shortlisted as one of five improvement schemes within the government’s Major Road Network.

All we need now is action from the Mayor of London, which will see the funds of up to £50million allocated to the junction once a strong business and investment strategy is proposed by his team.

This would benefit countless local people and pave the way for an ambitious infrastructure project for a growing population in Essex.