Thousands of road repairs carried out in the last year as extra investment continues
Additional investment, dedicated crews, and creative innovation saw highways maintenance thrive during 2025/26
Additional investment in highway improvements has resulted in even more repairs being carried out in the last year.
In 2025/26 Essex County Council committed to carrying out even more repairs and maintenance to keep highways, footways and structures safe.
The works delivered since April 2025, have included:
- 325 resurfacing schemes
- cleansing almost 153,000 gullies
- gritting more than 120,000 miles of road
- repairing more than 12,000 carriageway defects
- 9,300 repairs carried out through the Members Highways Initiative
- 48 schemes delivered via Local Highways Panels.
Innovation has also been at the heart of the road repairs and maintenance delivered in the last year. Many road defects have been repaired by the Roadmender system, which is an alternative method for repairing defects and uses recycled materials.
The graphene trial, where the incredibly strong substance is being trialled in Essex in surfacing materials, is also showing very positive results so far and we believe could help reduce the risk of potholes forming in the future.
As a result of the proactive and innovative approach to highways maintenance, the council was also awarded a ‘green’ rating by the Department for Transport (DfT) for its preventative approach to maintaining roads.
The DfT confirmed this year that funds for road repairs would be boosted, and the Council would receive £168 million for road repairs until 2029/30.
The council is continuing to invest extra funds in its highways repair and maintenance programme in in 2026/27, with an additional £6 million announced to help support the post-winter repair efforts.
Councillor Mark Platt, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport at Essex County Council, said:
“Thanks to the scale of additional investment invested in our roads, and hard work of our crews, this has been one of Essex County Council’s strongest years for road maintenance and innovation.
“From delivering hundreds of resurfacing schemes to pioneering new materials like graphene, we have focused on keeping our roads safe, resilient, and ready for the future.
“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, and we will continue to build on this momentum. Earlier this month we announced an extra £6 million funding for highways repairs and improvements, meaning more money than ever is being spent to maintain our roads.
“This investment will help us build on improvements already made, and help us to continue creating a safer, greener, and healthier Essex.”