LONG-awaited road improvements to the A414 between Ongar and North Weald are still nine years away, according to Essex County Council proposals.

Councillors were due to discuss the county's major schemes programme for highways and transportation, which sets out priorities for the coming years, at a meeting today.

The proposals outline 25 varying projects to be undertaken between 2006 and 2012 with a further 14 or so projects earmarked for 2013 to 2019.

Improvements to the stretch of the A414 between Aukingford Gardens, Ongar, and the Talbot roundabout, North Weald, costing £10m have been included in the second group of projects.

The improvements were due to have been implemented as part of the wider scheme of A414 improvements between Harlow and Chelmsford ten years ago.

However Essex County Council ran into funding problems at the time and had to abandon work on the Ongar stretch.

Work was expected to see some of the more dangerous bends straightened making it safer.

Ongar county councillor Gerard McEwen has warned people not to take any project dates as set in stone as the list of works often changes.

He said he was more anxious about getting immediate safety works carried out on the stretch of road notorious for accidents.

He said: "We're looking for urgent work to be done.

"The cambers of the road need to be looked at and some of the sight lines have to be improved. We've already had white lines and slow signs.

"If we had double white lines all along the road that would slow some of it down."

The highways and transportation policy group will be discussing the timetable for major projects today, which also includes projects such as M25 and M11 widening.

Immediate road safety scheduled to be carried out will see chevron signs, double-bend signs, slow markings and improvements to cats eyes and other road markings in the area near Water End Farm.