AFTER four years and three of the worst winters on record, the county’s transport chief has stepped down.

Norman Hume, the man in charge of highways and transportation, has decided to spend more time with his family and relinquish one of the toughest roles in local government.

From potholes to petrol prices, congestion to car crashes, snow to streetlights, Mr Hume has been trying to solve traffic woes and public transport nightmares with what he admits is an inadequate budget. Now he hopes the curse has been lifted, as he passes the gauntlet to colleague Tracey Chapman. He said: “I am stepping down for personal and family reasons. There is no big scandal, no policy disputes, but four years is enough and I’ll be switching to a less demanding role.”

During his time, he has overseen £130million worth of projects, which will all be completed by April 2012. But he said his biggest achievement had been seeing the number of casualties and those seriously injured in road accidents fall. Road deaths have fallen by 44 per cent in the past decade, while the number of children killed or seriously injured has dropped by two-thirds since the late Nineties.

Mr Hume said: “Reviewing behaviour has been a big part. Engineering improvements have helped and we have specifically targeted the education of 17 to 25-year-olds who get behind the wheel and like to show off to their mates.”

There have also been significant problems during his time in charge, with the weather and a lack of infrastructure top of the list.

He said: “The biggest challenge we faced was three of the worst winters in the past 20 years, all in a row.”

A lack of investment has also caused problems, with Essex seeing “development without infrastructure”, which puts a strain on the roads. But he insisted investment in public transport had helped to improve services.

Major county council projects during the past four years include: £65million investment at Sadlers Farm, Benfleet £12million on the Harlow dual carriageway £15million spent on the A127.