A THIRD access road into Canvey is needed to protect the area from major traffic meltdowns, politicians have urged.

The roads across Castle Point and across south Essex were plunged into chaos by roadworks to fix a water leak on the A13 on Monday night.

Andrew Sheldon, Essex County Council councillor for South Benfleet, says a third access road is needed to connect Canvey and Thurrock to prevent accidents and repairs from bringing traffic to and from the island to a standstill.

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“A small problem on a few roads in the area like the A13 or Canvey Way and the whole of south Essex becomes gridlocked,” Mr Sheldon said.

“Castle Point needs to get a business case together as soon possible to take to the Government to show why a third access road to Canvey is necessary.”

Former county and borough councillor Ray Howard MBE believes plans for the long-awaited road are desperately needed.

“To be blunt, you never know if you are going to have to spend hours getting home as the roads are so fragile that when there is the slightest issue, the island is gridlocked,” he said.

“It’s time we finally get this new road sorted after almost 40 years waiting.

“Monday’s problem saw drivers stuck in queues for hours on end just for a simple water leak.”

Rebecca Harris MP for Castle Point believes Castle Point is in need of major investment in infrastructure to reinvigorate its aging infrastructure.

“Most of Castle Point was built sixty years ago and our utilities infrastructure is now in need of a serious upgrade,” she said.

“I have spoken to a number of the utility companies pressing them to getting a program together for proper upgrades, not just fault patching.

“It’s particularly important along key roads in the borough like the A13 and Essex Way where one set of works can hold up residents for hours.”

The Conservative MP thank Essex and Suffolk Water for acting quickly to fix the leak, but added the delays “shouldn’t have happened in the first place”.