News releases and highways newsletters

Colchester Rapid Transit System – Northern Approach Road final works

The Rapid Transit System works on Northern Approach Road in Colchester are now entering their final stages.

Activities to be completed include lining, drainage, minor surfacing, traffic signal loop connections and the installation of street lighting, street signs and other street furniture.

To facilitate these works there will be some lane closures between Via Urbis and Mill Road.

Trial Hole Works - St Botolph's Circus Roundabout

A series of trial hole works will be taking place at St Botolph’s Circus roundabout in Colchester overnight between 8pm and 5am from Monday 12 May to Friday 16 May, as well as on Monday 19 May. No works will be taking place outside of these times, and any noisy works will be complete by 11pm.

‘Priority One’ success as targeted programme sees over 400,000 square metres of road resurfacing

Extra highways crews deployed to resurface roads most in need of repair

Priority One, the £25 million investment made by Essex County Council into targeted highway maintenance has finished this month. 128 additional roads were resurfaced – a total of 400,000 square metres.

The 8-month programme was the largest ever additional highways investment made by the council. The funds were used to deliver additional schemes across all 12 Essex districts in the areas. It was also used to tackle vegetation clearance, drainage repair, signage improvements and new lining.

5,000 electric vehicle chargers to roll out across Essex

Millions of pounds in government funding will significantly expand local charging infrastructure.

More than 5,000 electric vehicle charging sockets will be installed across Essex with millions of pounds awarded in government funding.

Essex County Council will receive £8.3 million from the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund to complete installations in different locations over the coming months.

The fund supports local authorities in England to work with the charge point industry to improve the roll-out and commercialisation of local charging infrastructure.

Ongoing Highways investment sees 15,000 extra repairs with more to come

Local Councillors are identifying the priority potholes in their areas that need repairing

More than 15,000 extra road and pavement repairs have been done across Essex in the past year through the Members’ Highways Initiative (MHI).

The MHI gives every Essex County Councillor a dedicated Essex Highways crew. Councillors can prioritise local highways issues that matter most to residents.

In the 2024 to 2025 financial year 15,104 repairs were completed through the programme. This is on top of regular maintenance repairs.

Highways Highlights - March 2025

The March edition of Highways Highlights has now been published.

The newsletter for all things highway in Essex.

In this edition:

Harlow STC road closures on Fifth Avenue – Zelenskyy Avenue A1019 and Hammarskjold Road

On behalf of Essex County Council, Bouygues UK Ltd are undertaking essential works on Fifth Avenue – Zelenskyy Avenue A1019 and Hammarskjold Road as part of the Harlow Sustainable Transport Corridor project.

As a result of these works, the following closures will be taking place: 

• Fifth Avenue – Zelenskyy Avenue A1019 will be closed southbound between the Sainsbury’s Roundabout and the Velizy Roundabout. This closure will begin at 8pm on Friday 9th of May and will be fully reopened by 5am on Monday 12th of May. 
• Hammarskjold Road will be closed in both directions between the junction of Sainsbury’s Roundabout and Torkildsen Way, on the nights of Friday 9th May and Saturday 10th of May between the hours of 8pm and 5am. To support this closure, Gladwin Way will be reopened in full. 

The road closures on Fifth Avenue – Zelenskyy Avenue A1019 and Hammarskjold Road are needed to complete road resurfacing works in the area, while ensuring both public and workforce safety is maintained. Please note that these works are weather dependent, and dates may change accordingly. 

East Hill - Traffic Regulation Order consultation

The changes to the design for the East Hill section of the route means we will be running another Traffic Regulation Order consultation. This is a legal process required in order to make changes to the highway. This consultation will start on Thursday 17 April and run until Friday 9 May.

To view the Traffic Regulation Order consultation click here and search for proposal TRAF/8556.

Harlow STC night closure - Velizy Avenue A1019

On behalf of Essex County Council, Bouygues UK Ltd are undertaking essential works on the Northbound and Southbound carriageways of Velizy Avenue A1019 as part of the Harlow Sustainable Transport Corridor project.   

As part of these works, a road closure will take place in both directions of Velizy Avenue A1019, between the Water Gardens roundabout and the Velizy Roundabout. 

While working on the Northbound side, the Southbound carriageway will remain open and vice versa. We are unable to give specific times for the change from one to the other as it is dependent on work progress. As such motorists are encouraged to follow the diversion signs in place along the diversion routes which are in the images below. 

This closure will be in place for three nights, between the hours of 8pm to 5am, on Tuesday 22nd, Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th of April 2025. 

This closure is needed for electrical works to support traffic signal instillation along Velizy Avenue, with a closure in place to ensure public and workforce safety. Please note that these works are weather dependent, and dates may change subject to weather conditions.

Project update - A1331 Link Road

Octavius Infrastructure, the contractor delivering the A1331 Link Road, have recently published their first project newsletter.

In it, they detail the works that have taken place so far, introduce the project team, set out the next steps of the project and explain their approach to sustainability. A section on upcoming road closures is also included.