Roadworks
Investing even more in Bexley’s Roads
The Highways Maintenance Programme for the next year was discussed at the Council’s February Public Cabinet meeting with a planned total of £9.1m to be invested in 2026 to 2027, a 17 percent increase on last year. The programme prioritises roads for resurfacing and large patch replacements, as well as repairs to potholes and other small highway defects.
Regenerating Sidcup High Street (A211)
The Council has spent over £0.4m to repair the paving features, strengthen soft spots in the road and fully resurface the worn-out carriageway in Sidcup High Street so that this critical infrastructure supports the vehicle and pedestrian use in this busy town centre
Planned utility works Sidcup
Thames Water have begun replacing their ageing water main infrastructure under the Council’s highway in Sidcup from Frognal Avenue, into Chislehurst Road, Elm Road and Station Road to Stanhope Road. This is much needed work as in the last 5 years there have been 18 burst pipes in this area causing unplanned disruption. The Council’s Highways Team have been working with Thames Water for many months to minimise the inevitable disruption during such extensive but essential works.
The work commenced in January 2026 in Frognal Avenue and then moved to the southbound carriageway in Chislehurst Road under a lane closure. In the February half term, work moved to the northbound carriageway in Chislehurst Road under a directional road closure to the entrance of the school gates. A mixture of 2/3 way lights have been put in place down to Jenner Close where the road narrows and another directional closure is in place until clear of the 4-way junction into Station Road. The diversion for the directional closure will be A20, Cray Road, Sidcup Hill and Sidcup High Street.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these essential Thames Water works. Please contact Thames Water for more information, email Customer.feedback@thameswater.co.uk or call 0800 316 9800.
Unplanned utility works
The cold start to 2026 meant an increase in unplanned emergency utility works with burst water mains an issue in many parts of the Borough, as elsewhere in London. In these instances, health and safety must be the priority and access to water for residents returned promptly. The Council’s Highways Team must allow utility works to happen, with burst mains having to be allowed at short/no notice. The team will go out and ensure disruption is minimised and that the correct signage is in place to advise residents of any diversions needed. Similarly other works such as gas, electricity and phone/internet must legally be permitted with some also at short notice to reduce public risk and loss of supply.
Bexley’s roads receive top national rating
The Council is responsible for maintaining a public highway network that includes over 354 miles of roads and 476 miles of footways.
New figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show that the condition of Bexley’s roads are now ranked 7th best in England. The assessment covers all A, B and C roads, as well as residential streets.
In a recent letter to the Council, Ministers confirmed that they would be providing £1.55m of funding for road maintenance next year and more if we perform well, and expressed the view that the Bexley road network is professionally managed and that the Council is transparent in its spending.
The number of potholes that we are filling annually has steadily increased from 1,414 in 2020 to 2021 to 2,590 in 2024 to 2025 an increase of 83%. This has been achieved with additional funding from DfT and Bexley.
Each year we repair around 2,500 potholes and we’ve resurfaced or restructured approximately 300 road sections over the past five years. Most of this work is funded directly through our own resources and an overall budget of £7.2m was spent by the Council for repairs in 2024/25. Our approach is to tackle the worst defects and strengthen the road through replacing the top two layers, to extend the life of the road, rather than just simply filling in the pothole.
As the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and a resident of the borough, I take the issue of potholes extremely seriously. Our Highways team work hard to keep our borough running smoothly and part of that is to rectify potholes. We know that there is always more to be done especially during Winter and we are trying to get round all road repairs as quickly as possible.”
Cllr Richard Diment, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods
Please continue to report highway issues on FixMyStreet.