A further £5m is being invested into the Borough’s roads and pavements this year, taking the total to £10m in 2021/22.
The additional £5m programme of works will be carried out between October 2021 and March 2022 by Marlborough - the council’s highways term contractor – with a further 24 roads and 45 pavements due to be resurfaced. This is on top of the £5m investment announced in March, which is seeing 30 roads and 31 pavements resurfaced this year.
The areas have gone through a strict process which considers a number of issues including road condition, bus routes, key routes, claims made, incidents, and flood risk.
A full list of the 24 roads and 45 pavements set to be resurfaced can be found on the council’s website: Highways Investment Programme – Phase 2
Cllr Ron Woodley, cabinet member for transport, asset management and inward investment, said: “This administration promised to deliver £10m investment into our highways and pavements each year for the next five financial years, and I am delighted to announce that we are meeting that figure for the first financial year.
“This capital investment means we will have repaired and resurfaced 54 roads and 76 pavements this year alone, making a significant difference to the Borough’s roads and pavements and a real step-change compared to previous years of under-investment.
“This investment does not include additional grant money we apply for each year, for example the £15m bid we have submitted for junction improvements through the Levelling up Fund, which also shows how serious we are about investing in our roads and continuing to improve junctions where we can.
“I would like to thank our highways team for working hard to enable us to make this huge level of investment into the Borough’s roads and pavements. There may be some slight disruption due to the nature of the works, but Marlborough staff will work to ensure this is kept to a minimum.”
Joe Revell, Marlborough Highways Director, said: “We are delighted to be part of such an ambitious project and are looking forward to the transformative change this investment will bring to the Borough. As a local company, we understand the needs of Southend-on-Sea and will work hard to deliver a high quality project with minimum disruption, to the benefit of the local communities.”
All road closures will be clearly signposted in advance to the works taking place. All works will be weather dependant, as crews are not able to lay roads in bad weather.
If you are aware of any road defects or roads that need resurfacing or patch work, please report these online via MySouthend.