DRIVERS across north and mid Essex have been promised road improvements following the announcement of a new £1 billion highways contract, the county council has said.

Essex County Council's Cabinet has given the go-ahead for the start of a tendering process to choose who will look after the maintenance and repair of more than 5,000 miles of Essex's roads.

The current highways contract has been in effect for 15 years and is set to expire on March 31, 2027. It is intended to award the new contract to a single provider.

The new contract is set to commence on April 1, 2027, for a period of seven years, with an estimated value of £1 billion. 

It means the successful bidder will enter into a contract with the council in year one of the contract (2027/28) and, from April 1 2028, the contract will be disaggregated to each of the new unitary authorities in Greater Essex. Each new unitary council will then manage its own highways contract with the provider, and commission its own works through it.

Cllr Tom Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport, said: "I genuinely believe this will be better for residents because it will be a contract that novates into unitary authorities, which will generally be better for residents

He added: "I think the way we've set this contract up with the new unitaries knowing they receive the bread butter functions of the highways services and knowing those will be taken care of, the ability to develop even in their first few years that additionality using their scaled up operation teams and working with our joint contract provider with the enhanced expertise that will be in the system, it will be better for residents, better value, better quality, better quicker outcomes. I'm very, very excited about the prospects."

A larger and more "intelligent" client team will be established. This will enable better commissioning of services and greater oversight of works to deliver best value for the residents of Essex and provide greater resilience through the transition to new unitary authorities.

As well as delivering core highway maintenance responsibilities, the successful bidder will be expected to demonstrate how they will support the council's ambition to drive innovation opportunities and mitigate environmental challenges through the works and services they deliver across Essex.

Cllr Cunningham said: "Everyone across Essex uses the highways network in some form, and it's only right that residents have high expectations when it comes to delivering a highways service that delivers much-needed repair and maintenance while providing value for money.  

"We want residents to be proud of where they live, which is why the council has invested significant additional funding in highways over the last three years. 

"But we must develop a service that is fit for the future and can tackle not just the challenges of repairing and maintaining our county's roads but best serve local communities as new unitary authorities take over the responsibility for highways from 2028. 

"I believe the next highways contract, which will be published for tender later this autumn, will provide the right ambition and opportunities to deliver exactly that."