Today (Tuesday, 3 March), councillors at the Highways and Transport Committee agreed a £58 million highways maintenance and improvement programme for 2026/27.
The schemes are aimed at improving road conditions, enhancing sustainable travel, and ensuring the county’s network is safe, resilient and fit for the future.
The proposed Highways and Transport Capital Programme allocates more than £58 million for highway maintenance and improvement works next year, funded through a combination of Department for Transport grants via the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, and significant additional county council investment.
The 2026/27 capital maintenance programme focuses on preventative maintenance, aimed at extending the life of highways and reducing the need for expensive reconstruction. The investment will support the maintenance and improvement of over 210km of roads, including key routes such as the A1307 Hills Road Cambridge, A1301 Cambridge Road Great Shelford, A142 Ely Road Soham, A1123 Hill Row Causeway Haddenham, A605 Elton, and B1099 Upwell Road March.
The programme also provides for:
- Maintenance of over 1,600 road signs.
- Renewal of 800km of road markings.
- Investment in footpaths, cycleways, drainage, bridge strengthening, road safety measures and other vital highway assets.
The programme follows a prioritisation process which uses asset condition data to ensure that funding is allocated where it delivers the greatest benefit for communities. Around 40% of Cambridgeshire’s network is built on peat‑based soils, which require more frequent and costly repairs. In 2026/27, £2.5 million has been ring‑fenced for soil‑affected road repairs.
The council will continue to work on an innovation trial to identify long‑term solutions for repairing soil affected roads, with £1.5 million allocated to trialling a variety of treatments. This work is expected to begin on site in the summer.
In addition to the maintenance programme, the Local Transport Grant (LTG) programme will invest £3.45 million in improvements that support safer, greener and more accessible travel across the county.
The proposed allocations for 2026/27 include:
- £1.31m for Local Transport Improvements, delivering small and medium‑sized schemes such junction safety improvements in Wisbech St Mary, a new footpath on New Barns Avenue in Ely and widening an existing walking and wheeling route in Huntingdon on Ambury Road.
- £820k for community‑led Local Highway Improvements.
- Funding for road safety schemes, accessibility improvements, traffic management upgrades and air‑quality monitoring.
These programmes support the council’s vision to help build a healthy, fair, and sustainable Cambridgeshire.
The council continues to adopt lower‑carbon materials and construction methods, including cold‑recycled binder materials, low‑carbon cements and hydrogenated vegetable oil in plant. These measures can cut carbon emissions by up to 80%.
Long‑term, sustained investment will remain essential to addressing Cambridgeshire’s road maintenance backlog, estimated at £797m. The council will continue working with government and partners to secure fairer funding to address Cambridgeshire’s unique challenges.
Cllr Alex Beckett, chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “We all need a road network that is safe, resilient and fit for the future, however we travel. This year’s programme represents one of the most significant investments we’ve ever made into Cambridgeshire’s highways.
“By focusing on preventative maintenance, we’re extending the life of our roads, and reducing the need for costly reconstruction later on. We’re also working hard to develop long‑term solutions to the challenges posed by our soil affected roads, which account for a huge 40% of our network.
“Although the challenges we face are significant, this programme marks real progress. I’m looking forward to seeing this work get underway and the positive impact it will have for everyone who travels around our county.”
How some of the £58.3 million programme will be invested includes:
- £36.5m for carriageway maintenance, including resurfacing and preventative treatments.
- £2.5m for repairing peat soil‑affected roads.
- £4.5m to maintain and improve footways and cycle routes.
- £3.25m for drainage works.
- £3m for strengthening bridges and structures.
- £1m to replace traffic signals.
- £1.6m to renew road signs and lines.
- £850k for design, network surveys, and investigation work.
- £550k for local minor schemes.
In total, this represents £58.3 million of investment in Cambridgeshire’s highways for 2026/27.
Funding allocations from the Combined Authority are expected to be confirmed in March 2026, and engagement with communities on the delivery programme will take place in the spring. Most construction activity is planned to take place between April 2026 and March 2027.
