There’s a mysterious bridge in Essex that seems to serve no purpose. This odd structure, located over the A120 near Elmstead, isn’t connected to any roads and doesn’t provide pedestrian access.
It’s even more baffling when viewed from above on Google Maps, where it appears to be in the middle of fields and farmland. Even National Highways doesn’t know when it was built.
If you look closely on Google Maps, you can see where entry and exit slip roads were supposed to be on the A120. Nowadays, these oddly shaped ‘slip roads’ are often used as lay-bys for weary drivers needing a break.
Satellite images reveal where the road would have led if it had been built. A large gap between trees marks the exact route that cars would have travelled if the bridge had been fully completed, reports Essex Live.
National Highways can’t confirm when the bridge was made, but it probably went up after the A120 turned into a much larger road in the 1970s.
The bridge does, however, have a path next to the road, but it doesn’t connect to paths on either side. The ONS now says it’s an official footpath, but that wasn’t what the bridge was for at first.
When asked about what will happen to the bridge, a National Highways spokesperson said: “A feasibility study is currently ongoing to see if the bridge could be repurposed as a green bridge and public right of way.”
Local councillors called the bridge “eerie” back in the 2010s. It stands over the A120, showing there’s still work to do on Essex’s roads.
