Essex County Council says it has allocated an extra £7.5 million and three more repair crews to fix the county’s potholed roads.

County councillors declared a pothole emergency in Essex last month – shortly after the new Reform-led administration took over the council.

The three additional crews will join the nine already on the county’s 5,000-mile road network. The pothole repair programme will see crews repair what were previously considered to be “non-urgent” potholes as they were not classified as dangerous.

The mix of new and reprioritised funding will enable the council to use a wider selection of specialised machinery, meaning extra flexibility to use the right tool for the job so that more defects can be fixed faster than before.

Mark Webster, ECC’s cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “We have listened to residents across Essex, and fixing our roads is their biggest concern. Increasing our pothole crews from nine to 12 means every district has its own dedicated team, improving our ability to fill more potholes in more areas.”

• Essex’s newest dual carriageway has opened near Elmstead Market, starting from a new roundabout on the A133. The mile-long stretch of the A1331 is the first phase of a £65 million route that will eventually connect the A120 and A133 and serve the 7,500 new homes panned for the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community.

The scheme also features walking and cycling facilities, and has seen over 40,000 trees and shrubs.

Click here to see a video showing the new road.