News releases and highways newsletters

Clingoe Hill update - A133 closure

Work on the A133 continue to progress to schedule. Over the winter months the focus of the Milestone team has been on the central reservation element and has seen the installation of a new pedestrian crossing, surface water drainage, new kerblines, Vehicle restraint system and a section of landscaping.

In line with the phasing plan, the team are now moving to ‘Phase 3’ of the scheme, which will focus on the Northern Verge. This phase will see construction of the new footway and cycleway. This element will run through to the summer.

Some of the latest progress can be seen via our drone footage under Section C of our webpage.

To facilitate the switch to the new phase safely and with the least disruption an overnight closure will be in place on the A133 between Greenstead Roundabout and Boundary Road over two nights Read full story

Highways Highlights - February 2025

The February edition of Highways Highlights has now been published.

The newsletter for all things highway in Essex.

In this edition:

Night closure on 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 night closure will take place on Velizy Avenue A1019, between the Water Gardens roundabout and the Velizy Roundabout for one night, from 8pm to 5am, on Thursday 20th of March 2025.

The closure will begin Northbound only at 8pm, with the Southbound carriageway remaining open at this time. From 1am, the Southbound carriageway will be closed, with the Northbound carriageway reopening from 1am. Read full story

Essex Highways helping to inspire the next generation

Essex Highways staff recently visited three Essex schools in support of a new programme designed to introduce young people to career opportunities in construction, engineering and infrastructure.

Building a Lasting Legacy is a new initiative spearheaded by Morgan Sindall Construction and Essex County Council.

The five-year programme was recently launched with a series of events at The Sandon School, The Boswells School and Hylands School, where more than 110 year 9 pupils were introduced to the sector and set the challenge of working in small groups to design a sustainable building.

Essex Highways has signed up to support the initiative and six staff from across our environment, transport planning and highways design teams volunteered their time to attend the schools, share their expertise and support the pupils in tackling the challenge.

Colchester City Centre footway improvements Complete

Repair work to improve pavements in Colchester City Centre is now complete. The team carried out the work between autumn 2024 and March 2025. This is a partnership between Essex County Council, Colchester City Council and Essex Highways.

A133 Clingoe Hill westbound lane closure

Works on the Clingoe Hill section of the Rapid Transit continue to progress on schedule.

In order to minimise disruption, the team will this week be working overnight on the westbound lane. This requires a lane closure which will be in place between 8pm and 5am for the next 3 nights, completing on Thursday night.

During the closure vehicles will be unable to exit/enter Boundary Road onto the A133.

First residential electric vehicle chargers installed in Essex

More than £200,000 of government funding is being used to install the chargers in the county.

The first residential electric vehicle chargers in Essex have now been installed.

The chargers, which are located on Moulsham Street in Chelmsford and Wimpole Road in Colchester, are the first of 66 for the county. Further points will be installed over the next six months.

Major pavement repairs completed in Colchester City Centre

Colchester City Centre has been transformed following the completion of extensive repairs.

Repair work to improve pavements in Colchester City Centre is now complete.

Team Colchester carried out the work between autumn 2024 and March 2025. This is a partnership between Essex County Council, Colchester City Council and Essex Highways.

Road closures to facilitate A1331 works

Works on Phase 1 of the new A1331 have now reached a stage where the team need to put in place road closures in order to facilitate the next element of works.

The details are as follows.

Fuel-eating bacteria digests oil spills in Essex

Microorganisms are being deployed on Essex roads to transform the way fuel spillages are cleared.

Essex Highways is using microbiology to clean up fuel spills as one of the first authorities to deploy microorganisms on a road network.

Traditional methods of clearing fuel spills rely on sand and other absorbent materials. This can require road closures for up to three to six hours, depending on the size, as well as costly clean-ups.

The Fuel Spill Digester is an eco-friendly alternative which uses natural bacteria and enzymes to quickly ‘eat’ fuel, oils and solvents spilled on roads.