Colchester roundabouts set for fresh line markings

County Hall will begin work on the Harwich Road and Ipswich Road roundabouts on Monday subject to weather conditions.

Colchester Council’s portfolio holder for communities, Natalie Sommers, said she wrote to the Essex Highways boss last week requesting for the lane markings to be repainted.

She added that although the clearer markings won’t be an instant cure for problems at the roundabouts, there is hope it will result in an improved standard of driving.

She said: “There was an accident there last week and I noticed the line markings at the Ipswich Road roundabout and Harwich Road roundabout are quite faded now.

“Whilst you would hope people stick to the lines, I hope having them marked out properly would mean there is better lane discipline.”

She added she was pleased with the speed at which Essex Highways boss Tom Cunningham arranged for the new markings.

“I am really pleased I got such a quick response from Mr Cunningham," she said. 

Traffic - severe delays across Colchester after a crash on the Ipswich Road roundabout (Image: Credited)

“It’s nice to know he agrees it is an important part of the road network for Colchester and needs full maintenance.”

The crash more than a week ago led to the closure of Ipswich Road while emergency services worked to treat the people involved. 

The incident saw traffic severely backed up down Ipswich Road towards the St John's roundabout and also along Cowdray Avenue.

Following the crash, two people were taken to Colchester General Hospital for further care.

Both roundabouts were reformatted in 2021 at a cost of £8.4million after three years of works, but Essex County Council said the works were essential “to alleviate growth congestion”.

Essex Highways previously told the Gazette it "has limited funds for engineering measures, so they must be used at locations with clearly identified collision patterns."

It said if a location shows this trend they will be addressed.

Essex Highways was contacted for comment.