Since 2010, Priti has been a longstanding campaigner for investment in the road network. Local roads need investment and upgrading and Priti is in regular contact with Essex County Council to get roads and footpaths repaired and potholes fixed.

Priti has also successfully campaigned for new investment in the A12 and the A120. Both of these key strategic roads are economic corridors that are vital to our County’s economy and need improvements to reduce delays and ease congestion. But they also need upgrading to make them safer to reduce the number of accidents that take place.

As a result of Priti’s campaigning, the A12 is to be widened between the Boreham Interchange and Marks Tey into a three-lane carriageway. The precise details on the route and sections to be re-routed are still being determined. There are also plans for the further widening of the road.

The A120 has been the subject of a comprehensive study funded by the Government and by Essex County Council to consider how best to dual the single carriageway stretch of road between Braintree and Marks Tey. In June 2018, Essex County Council announced option D as their favoured route, running from Galleys Corner at Braintree to a junction with the A12 to the South of Kelvedon. A business case for funding will be submitted to the Government in due course and you can view more details about this via this link: https://a120essex.co.uk/.

Priti is in regular contact with Government Ministers about these major transport projects as well as local residents.

Priti has also pressed the case for new and long-term investment in rail services and infrastructure on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML). Despite paying some of the highest fares nationally, GEML commuters have experienced poor service reliability for too long; Priti is determined to change this and secure improvements to deliver a high performing, high quality and world class rail service that local commuters and businesses deserve.

The GEML Taskforce was set up by Priti in 2013 to make the case for investment and she served as Chairman between February 2018 and July 2019. Working closely with rail user groups, local businesses and her Parliamentary colleagues, Priti helped secure £1.5 billion of investment for the current Greater Anglia franchise and £1 billion has been spent on much-needed new trains that are being rolled out across the network throughout 2019 and 2020. Priti has also successfully campaigned for Delay Repay 15 compensation which was introduced in April 2019 and £2.2 billion of investment for Network Rail in Control Period 6 (2019 – 2024) to operate, maintain and renew the railway in the Anglia region.

As Chairman of the GEML Taskforce, Priti led efforts to develop a strategic business case to secure investment for the GEML through the Department for Transport’s Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) process. The business case will highlight the significant growth changes expected across the East Anglia region over the next 25 years, the rail infrastructure enhancements needed to support this growth and the wider economic benefits investment in the GEML will bring people and businesses across the region. The GEML Taskforce’s objective is to submit its business case to the Government in autumn 2019.

Priti believes that the rail network needs to serve the ambitions of local commuters and businesses and while she is no longer directly involved in preparing the GEML Taskforce’s bid for funding, Priti maintains a close interest in its work and continues to make the case for investment on the GEML to improve capacity, maximise the capabilities of the new trains, reduce journey times for rail passengers and support local business growth and job creation across the Witham constituency and the East Anglia region.

To keep up to date with the work of the GEML Taskforce, more information can be found via the following link:https://newanglia.co.uk/great-eastern-rail-campaign/.