A hamburger roundabout was residents' preferred option during public consultation.
Latest assessment shows it also performs best from a business case and performance perspective, with good average journey time improvements for pedestrians, cyclists, buses and motorised vehicles, and a positive impact on the economy.
People were invited to have their say on proposals to re-design the junction and other elements of a proposed Army and Navy Sustainable Transport Package during a public consultation last year.
The consultation focused on two junction options – the hamburger roundabout and separate T-junctions - together with proposed Park and Ride and walking and cycling improvements.
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In December 2021, the Army and Navy Task Force, made up of elected members of Essex County Council, Chelmsford City Council and Great Baddow Parish Council, as well as Chelmsford MP, Vicky Ford MP, endorsed the hamburger roundabout as its preferred option and a formal decision was made by Essex County Council’s Cabinet today.
It has also been announced today that the proposed Army and Navy Sustainable Transport Package will now include a 500-space expansion of the existing Chelmer Valley Park and Ride, instead of a new Park and Ride site in Widford.
Cllr Lesley Wagland OBE, Essex County Council's Cabinet Member for Economic Renewal, Infrastructure and Planning, said: "The Army and Navy Sustainable Transport Package is an unmissable opportunity to improve journeys for everyone, providing better options for people to travel and encouraging safer, greener, and healthier ways of getting around Chelmsford.
"We recently heard the Department for Transport had approved our strategic outline business case for the scheme and I am delighted we have now also formally approved a preferred option.
"There is a lot of work still to be done, but these are very important milestones in securing Government funding and another big step towards us providing much-needed improvements to this vital gateway."
