Derbyshire County Council’s annual surface dressing programme will start in early May which will improve the surface of roads across the county.
They look after around 3,500 miles of roads and pavements and contractor Kier is set to surface dress parts of more than 80 roads by the end of June at a cost of £6.3 million
Yellow signs on each of the roads to be improved will be put up around 2 weeks before each job is to be carried out. Some roads will need to be closed and diversions will be in place. On some sites the road will be closed 1 side at a time under ‘stop and go’ boards.
This investment in Derbyshire’s roads is part of a £58 million programme this year, and many other roads will be resurfaced. A full list of these roads will be available soon.
Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal, our Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, said:
“We know that keeping our roads and pavements in good condition is a top priority for local people so during May and June our contractors will be busy across the county.
“The warmer months are when we carry out our surface dressing programme as we need better weather conditions.
“Surface dressing helps to extend the life of a road surface and helps to prevent potholes.
“I’d like to thank residents and visitors to the county in advance for their patience and understanding while these improvement works take place.”
To make work more efficient the jobs have been grouped together so that all those in an area are carried out at around the same time.
Surface dressing is a technique that extends the life of a road surface between 10 to 15 years. First any potholes are mended, then a layer of bitumen is laid which acts as the glue for the chippings that are rolled on top.
Driving over the chippings helps to further bed them in and any loose chippings are then swept away several weeks later.
Roads can only be surface dressed when the weather is warmer and the materials can bind together more effectively and the chippings are less likely to be washed away by rain.
You can report potholes and other road defects online. A reference number will be generated so progress of the fix can be tracked.
See the latest updates about roadworks across Derbyshire, including a personalised email alert service tailored to your local neighbourhood or for the route you drive to work.
