Gloucestershire County Council has launched a ‘summer of resurfacing’ to improve road conditions right across the county.
The county council is responsible for maintaining almost 6000km of roads and many have been adversely affected by some of the coldest and wettest winter weather for over 100 years.
The county council is focusing heavily on its £100m resurfacing programme which has been supported by extra funding from central government. This has meant it can expand annual resurfacing plans and fast track repairs.
More than 170 roads are set to be resurfaced across the county this year and this is supported by a programme of new and innovative methods of repairs that make up this ‘summer of resurfacing’.
The council has also set up a dedicated programme to accelerate some areas of operational work and ongoing improvements across our highways teams. This is backed by an additional investment of £1.27 million by the Council in 2023-24 and is allowing teams to make more use of some of the more flexible and innovative approaches to help fix our roads.
- Find and fix
The county council regularly monitors the conditions of the roads and has 8 new teams finding and fixing smaller potholes before they get worse to further accelerate improvements. Our new ‘find and fix’ teams made thousands of repairs during their first weeks on the job — they are seeking out and fixing smaller potholes before they become a safety hazard. - ‘Pothole buster’ and patching gangs
The spray injection patcher machine, known as a ‘pothole buster’ can fix up to 100 potholes in a day. This is supported by extra patching gangs relaying larger areas. - Technology
Cold and wet weather conditions make road repairs more difficult. The county council is trialling new techniques with new cold materials so they’ll be more resistant to bad weather. The technique is also faster, reduces carbon and produces less waste.
Cllr Dom Morris, cabinet member responsible for highways and flooding at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “We all want better roads, and we are committed to delivering them. That’s why this summer we are carrying out a huge programme of repairs as part of our ‘summer of resurfacing’. This year more than 170 roads will be resurfaced and our extra investment means that repairs can be made faster and more efficiently.
“The Highways Transformation Programme is implementing changes to the way we deliver services including introducing ‘find and fix gangs’ to fix potholes earlier, spray injection patching which can fill up to 100 potholes in a day, and trialling innovative new materials to speed up repairs and help them last longer in bad weather. Since April we’ve filled over 12,000 potholes and this summer we will be making more improvements to the roads than ever before. These ideas and our £100 million resurfacing investment will deliver results for our residents.”
