Motorists will be able to better navigate the Dunmow bypass, now signs are finally to be installed more than a year after it was opened.

Essex Highways have confirmed that work to install around 40 road signs in and on the outskirts of the town will start this Sunday, expected to be completed by May 6 – just a day before the Election.

Dunmow Mayor Jonathan Cadwallader welcomed the move.

“This really is excellent news, and hopefully it will quieten the town centre down a little bit,” he told the Reporter.

“Hopefully it will override Sat Nav problems. The weight restriction signs will hopefully mean drivers will not go through the town centre.

“It’s very positive news and good news for the motorists,” he added.

There were concerns that a proposed 7.5 tonne weight limit on vehicles through the town centre would not be enforced without the correct signs, leading to more traffic through the town.

Dunmow county councillor Susan Barker had lobbied for the signs to go ahead.

“I am delighted that the new signs are now being installed as this will direct traffic away from the town centre, with the weight limit restriction making Dunmow a more attractive and safer environment for pedestrians,” she told the Reporter.

Dunmow Bypass, which cost £8m to construct, links the B184 from Saffron Walden and Thaxted to the B1256 to the west of Great Dunmow allowing traffic to bypass the town centre.