EVESHAM roads are set to be given a new lease of life after nearly £4million was injected into a new surface dressing programme to repair pot holes.
Worcestershire Highways officially launched it’s £3.85million programme on Tuesday (April 5), where around 300 roads covering more than 150 miles of carriageway across the Vale will be resurfaced.
The work will begin tomorrow (April 9) in Hinton, before moving onto Sedgeberrow, Broadway, Badsey, Aldington and Evesham in the first few weeks and aims to finish in August.
A letter will be delivered to properties where work is taking place and signage will be set-up in advance, to ensure those living nearby and motorists are up-to-date with the programme’s scheduling.
Surface dressing consists of a calibrated tanker spraying a thin film of hot, sticky bitumen onto the road surface, before a metered spreader places hard stone chippings onto the road.
The chippings are then lightly rolled and pressed into the bitumen to form an interlocking surface and any loose chippings will be swept away within 24 hours, before the road markings can be replaced.
Coun John Smith, Worcestershire County Council cabinet member for Highways said: “The council is once again making a significant investment in the county’s highways to repair pot holes and resurface the roads.
“Surface dressing is a great cost effective way of maintaining our county’s roads and is efficient as it can be done quickly, thus helping to cut down on road or lane closures which cause inconvenience to motorists.
“We know from residents and businesses that improving our highways is a high priority. We aim to maintain our roads to the highest standard and this year’s investment is only part of our plan to improve the condition of the highway, building on more than £50million we’ve invested in the last few years.
“We’ll also be increasing the amount of chippings we recycle after the roads have been swept. This year we anticipate we’ll recycle approximately 2,500 tonnes of chippings which we can use again.”
Follow the Highways’ Twitter account @WorcsTravel to keep up to date with the programme.
Visit www.worcestershire.gov.uk to report any wear and tear on the roads using the council’s ‘Report-It’ system.
