Twelve dedicated pothole repair teams are now working across Essex after Essex County Council deployed three extra crews to the county’s 5,000-mile road network. The expansion, funded by a £7.5 million pot, means every district has its own squad for the first time and allows crews to tackle defects previously written off as non-urgent.
“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,” said Councillor Mark Webster, Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure. The additional gangs started patching roads in the week of 25 June 2026, targeting carriageway scars that had fallen below the council’s threshold for immediate danger.
The pothole emergency was declared by the new Leader of Essex County Council, Councillor Peter Harris, at the council’s Annual General Meeting on 28 May 2026, making it his first act after taking the role. The £7.5 million was announced at the same time as the emergency declaration. The blitz runs alongside the annual resurfacing programme, which has already delivered improvements on the A13 westbound between Pitsea Flyover and Five Bells Roundabout during overnight closures in May.
Last year’s resurfacing programme completed 325 large-scale schemes, and the 2026/27 season is already underway with works on Ashingdon Road in Rochford and the A132 Burnham Road in Rettendon. The extra pothole crews will operate parallel to those major renewals, giving the council the capacity to both rebuild worn-out stretches and fill the smaller fractures that blight everyday journeys.
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