Members’ Highways Initiative sees over 5,000 extra repairs across Essex

Initiative enables county councillors to prioritise what matters most to their local residents.

Thousands of highways repairs have been carried out on top of normal maintenance since April through the Members’ Highways Initiative (MHI).

The MHI gives every Essex County Councillor a dedicated Essex Highways crew to carry out repairs every few weeks.

Councillors can use the programme to prioritise local highways issues which matter most to residents.

So far this financial year, additional repairs have included:

• 2,338 carriageway repairs, such as potholes and surface damage
• 1,965 footway repairs
• 840 other repairs which include kerb repairs, drainage covers, signage and street furniture

The MHI also funded a programme to refresh linings on pedestrian crossings, in particular zebra crossings, which had faded and needed repainting.

These issues had been reported by county councillors during the summer months. MHI crews used Methyl Methacrylate to give the crossings a longer lifespan.

This is the second year the MHI has been available to county councillors after the council confirmed £8 million in funding in this year’s highways budget.

15,104 repairs were completed through the MHI in the 2024 to 2025 financial year.