Resolving East Sussex road issues '˜quicker' after new contract

Costain CH2M, a joint venture consisting of construction specialist Costain and civil engineering and programme management company CH2M, was appointed by East Sussex County Council as its new highways service provider. The new venture is responsible for highways services including maintaining roads, street lights and traffic signals, duties previously carried out by three separate contractors and the council. The new contract sees the introduction of a new website and online system for people to report highways issues. Meanwhile, the county’s existing highways stewards continue in their roles, and have increased powers to fix minor defects themselves, speeding up the time of repair. County council lead member for transport and environment Carl Maynard said before the contract began: “The new contract will offer better value for money and an improved service to residents. “Roads are an important issue for people in East Sussex and ensuring we have a well maintained highways network is vital for the prosperity of the county.” The new online reporting system will allow people to log and monitor their enquiries through the new website and access much more information in real time about active and planned works. A Costain CH2M spokesman said: “This is an exciting opportunity to deliver a first class, fully integrated service for the people of East Sussex. “We’ve been working hard to ensure the switchover goes as smoothly as possible, and people should start to see some improvements, particularly in how they can report any problems on the roads and the speed with which we can repair them.” The seven-year contract includes fixed costs for routine maintenance such as grass cutting, pothole repairs and winter gritting, providing more certainty over the cost of the service. Meanwhile, a new incentives and penalties system will be introduced to ensure value for money is achieved while providing the best possible service to people in East Sussex. To use the online reporting system, visit http://www.eastsussexhighways.com. You can continue to report highways issues by calling the highways contact centre on 0345 6080193 or find regular highways updates on Twitter @esccroads. Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 1) Make our website your homepage 2) Like our Facebook page 3) Follow us on Twitter 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! Always the first with your local news. Be part of it.