TRAFFIC chaos at Southend’s notorious Cuckoo Corner bottleneck could finally come to an end as jam-busting measures - including a box junction - are investigated.

The roundabout, which links Victoria Avenue with the A127, Priory Crescent and Manners Way, has been a source of frustration for years, sparking calls for it to be totally overhauled. 

Now, the council’s new Labour-led administration are investigating the possibility of introducing a box junction on the approach and believes it could be the “most efficient” solution to tackling long queues and high pollution levels in the area. 

If agreed, the box junction would be installed at the “critical area” on the east-bound section of the A127 as it approaches Manners Way and Priory Crescent. 

This would stop traffic blocking the exit of drivers from Manners Way, causing long queues. 

Labour councillor Lydia Hyde said: “Cuckoo Corner is a known traffic hotspot and at the moment it isn’t working effectively, there are issues we have with some of the exits which have traffic lights where they don’t have lights on Manners Way, we are looking at critical fixes through the junction.

“It is at the gateway to our city and for people who live and work in Southend. From my perspective I want to see an air quality improvement and a stop to idling cars kept for long times at lights.

“You have an issue where cars are stopping. The critical area is at the bottom of Manners Way and Priory Crescent because cars block off those two roads and we would consider a box junction on the roundabout to make sure they can always get off that junction.

“We are looking at box junctions and pedestrian crossings and we would like to introduce some dynamic traffic lights to adjust the light sequence around the current traffic conditions at different times.”

Last October, Mr Cowan and Lydia Hyde submitted a motion to the then Tory-led administration presenting a range of ideas, including a box junction, changing traffic lights and moving pedestrian crossings, to fix the issue. 

He said: “We put forward a motion for Cuckoo Corner because we wanted to see something happen, we do not need large engineering solutions for this."

Mr Cowan explained "monitoring" work concerning the feasibility of proposals in the motion last year are now being fully investigated.

Any proposed changes would need detailed analysis by engineering experts before firmer details are released in the coming weeks.