News releases and highways newsletters

Clarification on A120–A133 Link Road requirement in Garden Community plan

Following recent false suggestions that an amendment removing the requirement for the A120-A133 link road will be proposed as part of the Tendring/Colchester Borders Garden Community Development Plan Document, Colchester City Council has issued the following clarification:

Harlow Sustainable Transport Corridor road closures - Velizy Avenue and Hammarskjold Road

The Harlow Sustainable Transport Corridor works are continuing to progress well.

Starting on Monday 9th June, two separate overnight road closures on Velizy Avenue and Hammarskjold Road will be required to facilitate essential works on the project.

Road Closure – Northbound Velizy Avenue A1019 and Post Office Road.

On Monday 9th, Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th June the Velizy Avenue northbound lane will be closed from the Crown Gate Junction to the Velizy Roundabout between the hours of 8pm and 5am.

Rapid Transport System (Clingoe Hill section) / A1331 - Meet the contractor drop-in event

Work is continuing to progress on the Colchester Rapid Transit System (Clingoe Hill section) and the A1331(Phase 1) projects.

To give an opportunity for the contractors to discuss progress of the two schemes and the upcoming programme, a drop-in session is taking place between 9.30am and 12.30pm on Tuesday 3rd June at Colchester Innovation Centre, Knowledge Gateway, Boundary Road, Colchester, CO4 3ZQ.

Pupils enjoy tours of two key transport schemes as part of new construction initiative

School pupils were given an exciting glimpse into potential career opportunities in construction with guided tours of two major transport infrastructure projects in Chelmsford.

Groups of year 9 pupils from The Boswells School visited the new Beaulieu Park Station which will be the first new railway station on the Great Eastern Main Line in more than 100 years when it opens later this year, as well as the site of the first section of Chelmsford North East Bypass (section 1A).

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.

Harlow Sustainable Transport Corridor road closure - Crown Gate

On behalf of Essex County Council, Bouygues UK Ltd are undertaking essential works on Crown Gate as part of the Harlow Sustainable Transport Corridor project.

As part of these works, a road closure will take place in Crown Gate, between the Velizy Avenue and Terminus Street junctions.

This closure will be in place for two nights, between the hours of 8pm to 5am, on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th of May 2025.

This closure is needed for road resurfacing in the Crown Gate area, 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.

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 Romanae 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.