As the weather starts to improve, North Northamptonshire Council has started the spring and summer phase of its extensive highways repair programme.

Every year there is a planned programme of works which involves various treatment methods, running alongside the reactive maintenance that addresses issues highlighted by routine inspections and reports via the council’s website.

Roads everywhere are vulnerable in wintery weather as heavy rain, frost and snow all act to make surfaces more susceptible to deterioration.

Although this winter has not seen extreme freezing temperatures, it has been very wet with the past 18 months being one of the wettest since records began.

Over the coming weeks, with highways partner Kier, repairs will include a mix of surface dressing treatments, micro asphalting and thermal road repairs. These are proactive forms of maintenance offering a more cost-effective and sustainable solution, when compared to typical resurfacing schemes, that future-proof roads for up to 15 years.

A combination of winter weather and increased heavy usage causes damage to roads and footways not just here but throughout the UK.

As well as winter weather causing damage to the roads it’s also more challenging in carrying out road repairs and many repair methods actually rely on the weather being warm and dry to be the most effective.

The next few years will see the largest investment the council has made to date on highways which includes a significant amount of capital spend.

Cllr Matt Binley, the Council’s Executive Member for Highways, Travel and Assets said: “We know that having our roads repaired is a top priority for many of our residents and we’re determined to make an impact on the network over the coming months.

“A well-maintained highways network is essential in keeping our communities connected and helping the economy to grow. That’s why we’re continuing to invest more in our highways in the coming years,” added Jason Smithers, Leader of the Council

“The surface treatment works taking place between now and October will protect the roads for years to come. We look forward to delivering these schemes on behalf of North Northamptonshire Council to offer a high-quality service – which focuses on minimising disruption, providing clear communication in the communities we work, and providing safer journeys for everyone using the network,” said Edith Shah, General Manager at Kier Transportation.

Surface dressing is the most cost-effective way to prolong the life of roads that show minor signs of deterioration. It improves the road surface, skid resistance and seals the surface to stop water getting in. This protects it from damage caused by severe winter weather conditions and traffic.

Over the coming weeks, the programme will see surface dressing covering almost 134,400m2 of highways.

Elsewhere on the network, Microaspahlt will also be applied. Microasphalt is an economical way of resurfacing roads which are starting to show the first signs of wear and tear. This is used when the structure of the road is good but the very top surface is beginning to wear and needs sealing to stop water getting in, preventing major deterioration.

Other roads will be resurfaced, patched and re-textured. Road re-texturing is a restoration treatment where the carriageway is blasted, with either high pressure water or small ball bearings, to restore surface texture. The process is low cost and is generally used on roads in a good condition which just need improvements to skid resistance.