NEARLY 2,000 drainage, vegetation and signage improvements delivered across Essex

£25 million worth of improvements have been made in addition to normal highways maintenance.

The single largest investment in Essex Highways has resulted in thousands of fixes to overgrown vegetation, tired signage, damaged drains and broken bollards.

The £25 million Priority One programme was launched by Essex County Council in August 2024 to target issues specifically reported by residents in every district, city and borough.

The investment is in addition to the council’s annual highways maintenance budget, enabling extra crews and resources to be committed.

The Priority One programme has resulted in:

824 drainage clearances
582 vegetation clearances
446 signage and bollard repairs
30 drainage repairs
128 roads have also been resurfaced as a result of the Priority One programme.

Further investment into Essex’s roads will continue in 2025/26 on top of the annual maintenance budget.

Councillor Mark Platt, Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport at Essex County Council, and lead for the Priority One programme, said: “Priority One has delivered a complete package of highways maintenance across Essex. This has ranged from road resurfacing and vegetation clearance to signage improvements and bollard replacements, improving the look and safety of our highways network.

“I am very pleased we were able to deliver nearly 2,000 repairs and road resurfacing schemes for residents and businesses. I look forward to seeing our work continue through our 2025/2026 highways budget and upcoming additional investment.”

Visit www.essexhighways.org/priority-one for more information about the Priority One programme.