E Sussex increases road marking spend

East Sussex County Council is to increase its expenditure on road markings for a year in response to concerns raised by a council scrutiny committee. The council’s current road maintenance contract, held by a Costain/Jacobs joint venture, includes £165,000 for one road marking gang to renew markings. They give top priority to safety markings. In addition, the council has a machine-laid programme of markings work, which was expected to cost £66,000 in 2019/20. A review board of councillors has concluded that an initial injection of one-off funding, plus two road marking gangs, and a machine-laid programme would be needed to bring markings up to standard and keep them in good condition. The councillors have welcomed the council’s decision to use a portion of an extra £1m road maintenance funding in in 2020/21 to fund an additional road marking gang. “Road markings are a very visible, relatively cheap and cost-effective way of supporting road safety and promoting traffic movement,” say the councillors.