£2.5M Road Improvement Scheme Set To Start In Region

Work is due to start on a £2.5million road improvement scheme across the East Riding which will help to prevent potholes.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s highways maintenance team will begin work on its annual road surface dressing scheme as part of essential works being carried out during the coronavirus lockdown.

Over the next five months, the highways crews will upgrade road surfaces at 63 locations.

Around 13,000 tonnes of stone chippings will be laid on 67 miles of road, from A roads to unclassified routes.

This year’s surface dressing programme has been changed to target mainly rural roads, in order to help highways staff stick to social distancing measures while they work.

Surface dressing is carried out every year by the council between April and August, as a quick and economical way of repairing, maintaining and extending the life of a road.

The work involves spraying hot, sticky bitumen on to the road, spreading chippings on top, and then using a roller to press them in.

The process actively reduces the risk of potholes forming as it seals the road and stops water from entering and damaging the surface. It also improves skid resistance for vehicles.

Surface dressing is carried out during the spring and summer months as it requires warmer temperatures for the bitumen and chippings to take effect.

Councillor Mike Stathers, the portfolio holder for enhancing communities at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said:

“Surface dressing is our first line of defence against potholes and plays an essential part in protecting our roads for years to come.

“Obviously our highways team has had to make changes due to the Covid-19 outbreak, which has meant moving operations to more rural locations and all staff following social distancing guidelines as they work.

“We’d like to thank residents and motorists in advance for their patience while this year’s work is carried out.”

Residents and motorists notified in advance

Signs will be placed on all roads involved in the surface dressing a week before the work takes place.

Disruption to traffic will be kept to a minimum, but 20mph speed limits will be in place to protect both the travelling public and the council’s workforce.

Loose chippings are recycled

After the surfacing dressing is complete, any loose stone chippings left behind won’t go to waste.

Mechanical road sweepers are used to collect up all the loose chippings, which are then stored.

Every two years the council hires a giant industrial washing and grading machine to clean all the loose chippings so they can be recycled and reused on the roads the following year.

The process recycles more than 7,000 tonnes of chippings and saves around £60,000 of council taxpayers’ money.