TENS of millions of pounds have been set aside for upgrading roads and pavements from “critical” condition to “good”.

Southend Council announced in its draft budget that £26million will be spent over the next three years on resurfacing roads and filling potholes.

Up to £3million is expected to be spent on repairs during 2019.

The council says that the majority of the money will be spent on an “ad-hoc basis”, allowing them to deal with problems as and when they occur, such as last year’s “Beast from the East”.

The money will be in addition to £617,000 of Government funding that was awarded to the council in December.

That money has been allocated specifically to filling the borough’s most serious potholes, making improvements to the High Street and resurfacing Western Esplanade and Leather Lane.

It is scheduled to take place between March and June.

Other schemes in the budget include half a million pounds on improving car parks and another half a million pounds on upgrading traffic signs.

A council spokesman said: “The £26m figure covers a wide variety of highways projects.

“The council will be spending £12m on A127 junction improvements and improvements to the A127 growth corridor.

“This includes projects such as Kent Elms, the Bell junction and other remedial A127 works.

“There will be a £3m investment in highways and pavement maintenance - plus an additional £2m already approved in the capital programme across the years 2018/19 to 2020/21 – which will be used on works such as repairing potholes, fixing broken or uneven pavements and resurfacing roads.

“The council will also be investing £5m on the council’s Southend Central Area Transport scheme, which has already seen the section of London Road between College Way and Queensway completed.”