TfL's Brent Cross flyover works began last night. The A41 is down to one lane each way, Hendon Way shuts on four nights and the North Circular on three more.
Work to rebuild the A41 Brent Cross flyover started overnight. From today the flyover and its approaches are down to one lane in each direction. Transport for London says the job will run for up to two years.
The first full closure came last night. TfL’s live traffic feed showed the westbound A406 North Circular shut at the Brent Cross roundabout from 10pm on Wednesday 30 September to 5am this morning, logged as “closed for the Brent Cross Flyover renewal works” (TfL traffic status).
The next closures are tonight and tomorrow night, on the A41 Hendon Way southbound.
Why the flyover is being rebuilt
TfL put a safety-critical 7.5-tonne weight restriction on the flyover in October 2022. The works are meant to strengthen the structure so that limit can come off once construction is finished (TfL project page).
TfL lists three jobs:
- strengthening the flyover structure
- replacing the safety barriers on the flyover and its approach ramps
- installing a new waterproofing system to extend the life of the structure
The Department for Transport has put £10.8 million into the programme. TfL says more than 120,000 vehicles use the wider Brent Cross Interchange every day.
TfL first announced a start date of 24 September, in a press release on 14 August. Its project page now gives the night of 30 September, and that is when the feed shows the first closure.
The dates to plan around
The lane restrictions come in three stages, according to TfL’s travel advice for the works:
| Dates | What changes |
|---|---|
| 1 to 28 October | A41 Hendon Way lane restrictions. The flyover and its approaches go down to one lane each way |
| 1 October to 13 November | One lane of the westbound A406 closed between Brent Street and the Brent Cross Interchange exit slip |
| From 29 October | A contraflow on the flyover, still one lane each way |
On top of that, TfL has booked these overnight closures. Each runs from 10pm to 5am.
| Night | Road closed |
|---|---|
| Thursday 1 October | A41 Hendon Way southbound, Vivian Avenue junction to The Vale junction |
| Friday 2 October | A41 Hendon Way southbound, same stretch |
| Monday 5 October | A41 Hendon Way northbound, The Vale junction to Vivian Avenue junction |
| Tuesday 6 October | A41 Hendon Way northbound, same stretch |
| Tuesday 13 October | A406 North Circular, both directions, beneath Brent Cross Interchange, for concrete repairs |
| Wednesday 14 October | The same |
| Thursday 15 October | The same |
| Thursday 12 November | A406 westbound, between the Brent Cross Interchange exit and entry slips, to lift the lane restriction |
| Friday 13 November | The same |
On the two November nights, traffic goes up and over the interchange. TfL says there will be signed diversions for every closure, and that it may need more overnight closures. It will publish those dates once they are confirmed.
Work then stops for Christmas. TfL says it will pause the job from late November to early January, to keep Brent Cross Shopping Centre open to visitors and businesses through the festive season.
Buses on the Hendon Way nights
On all four Hendon Way closure nights, TfL is diverting these routes between 10pm and 5am:
- 102, 113, 143, 186, 226
- 324, 326, 643
- the night bus N113
Some stops on or near Hendon Way will not be served. TfL says buses will stop on request anywhere along the diversion. Outside those nights buses keep serving Brent Cross, but TfL warns they may be slower because of the reduced road space.
The Brent Cross footbridge is also closed for repairs at the moment, TfL says.
What it means for you
- If you drive through Brent Cross, expect it to be slower for weeks. TfL expects longer journeys on the A41 and “surrounding roads, including parts of the A406 North Circular Road, A5 Edgware Road and A1”. Its advice to drivers who do not need to stop at Brent Cross, Staples Corner or Henlys Corner is to go another way.
- The Tube and trains are unaffected. TfL points to the Northern line at Brent Cross, Hendon Central and Golders Green, and to Thameslink at Hendon and Brent Cross West (train times from Barnet).
- Heavy goods vehicles stay banned from the flyover until the work is finished. The 7.5-tonne limit only comes off at the end.
- The M1 is closing at the same time. National Highways has the M1 northbound shut between junction 1 at Staples Corner and junction 5 tonight, 10pm to 5.30am, and on Friday night from 11pm to 6am. Do not plan to use it as your way round Brent Cross (National Highways closure report).
This is only the first phase. TfL says later phases of the wider Brent Cross Interchange programme are expected to include the mid-level roundabout and the A406 slip roads. It has not given dates.
Every live closure in the borough this week is on our Barnet roadworks page, which we update as the dates change.
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