Roads UK | Essex From Above

This feature has been kindly contributed by Terry Joyce, from Essex Explorer.

Nestled in the bottom corner of Eastern England, and with London to to the south west of the county, Essex is an exceptionally diverse region with a exceptionally diverse transport network. It boasts London's third largest Airport, Stansted, the major freight port at Tilbury, and of course is home to half of the Dartford River Crossing.

As a result, Essex has a road network to match. The M25 and the M11 both pass through the county, the A12 takes traffic from London towards the Norfolk coast, and the A13 and A127 provide two major routes out to Southend.

This page contains a collection of photographs from across the county, featuring a host of major and local routes. Yet, they're not taken from the side of the road, nor have they been snapped from the passenger seat of a car. In fact, as the title suggests, they have all been taken from the air.

Click on a photograph to see a larger version. To come back to this page, click on the "Back" button at the top of your browser.

	This picture shows the A12 at Junction 28. The junction was under construction at the time the photograph was taken, in order to improve access to the stadium, and also in anticipation for a new park and ride side and relief road.
	The A12 / A120 intersection at Colchester.
	The A12, with the A414 crossing over it near to Chelmsford. The parking area next to the junction is the Sandon park and ride facility.
	This is a section of the A12 at Springfield. It shows the sliproad at junction 19 to the A130, which is signposted to Stansted, Sudbury, Braintree and Chelmsford.
	This is the A12/A130 intersection near Howe Green.
	This is Junction 25 (Marks Tey) on the A12, an interchange with the A120 and B1408.
	This section of the A13 is near Corringham. The road to the left is the B1420 Southend Road, which used to be the A13. The road going over the A13 is One Tree Hill.
	The three-level roundabout interchange where the A13 meets the M25. The smaller roundabout in the top right corner handles B1335 on the edge of Aveley.
	Here is another section of the A13. The junction with the A128 is just out of picture to the left. The building with the red doors is Orsett Fire Station, sited on the A1013, which is the old A13. Towards the top of the picture there are two bridges over the A13 which is the junction with the A1014 The Manorway and the B1007 North Hill.
	This section of the A13 shows the junction of A1014 The Manorway, the A1013 and B1007 North Hill.
	This is a section of the A127 at Dunton, on the edge of Basildon. The looping road in the centre of the picture is Ford's vehicle testing track. Going around the top end of the track is the B148 West Mayne; the Maynes are the access roads in and out of Basildon. The B148 is the only Mayne designated as a B-road (the others are all A-roads).
	The A176 Upper Mayne, the main road from the A127 into Basildon. The road heading across the centre of the picture is the A1235, and takes traffic to the main industrial and leisure areas.
	This is a section of the A120 heading towards Colchester. The small area with building near the bottom right is Elmstead. The water further up on the right is Ardleigh reservoir.
	This is the A130 at the junction with the A132 at Rettendon. The roundabout (bottom right) is the Rettendon Turnpike.
	This is the A133 at Weeley Heath. The farm property is Norwood Lodge, whilst the road over the top is Bentley Road.
	Dartford River Crossing, with the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge transporting the southbound carriageway of the A282 from Essex (right) into Kent. If you look in the top left corner of the picture, you can just see the O2 Arena (formerly the Millennium Dome) at Greenwich.
	The A133 at Weeley, with the B1033 heading away to the left.
	This is a section of the A131 at Great Leighs. Also in view is the ill fated Great Leighs racecourse, which closed in 2009, less than a year after opened.
	The A130 primary route, linking Canvey Island with Chelmsford. This road opened in 2002, with the old road (now numbered A1245) sweeping in midway up the picture, from the right. The accompanying road at the foot of the picture is the A129.