Leicestershire County Council's Surface Dressing Programme for Summer 2024

Strategic Insights -

Leicestershire County Council's highways teams have begun their annual surface dressing programme, aiming to protect the county's road network by minimizing potholes, keeping roads waterproof, and improving road safety. By applying a layer of bitumen followed by stone chippings, the programme helps extend the lifespan of the roads, reducing fuel consumption for motorists and minimizing disruption to key routes. The surface dressing work covers nearly 770,000 square meters of road, equivalent to almost 100 football pitches, with the team fixing nearly 9,000 potholes in 2024.

Key Takeaways:

  • The surface dressing programme covers an area of nearly 770,000 square meters, equivalent to almost 100 football pitches.
  • The programme involves applying a layer of bitumen followed by stone chippings, which are then embedded into the bitumen with rollers.
  • The preventative work aims to minimize potholes, keep roads waterproof, increase resilience to adverse weather, improve road safety, and reduce fuel consumption for motorists.
  • The programme is carefully planned across various key routes to keep disruption to a minimum.
  • Councillor Charles Whitford, cabinet member for highways, transport and waste, highlighted the importance of the programme, stating that it can increase the lifespan of roads by up to 10 years.
  • The council's team uses around 11,500 tonnes of stones for the surface dressing programme, which relies on warmer, drier weather to ensure effective combining of materials.
  • The programme is a key part of the council's preparations for the harsh, colder months, with the team starting work on gritting and monitoring road temperatures after completing the surface dressing work.

Statistics:

  • Nearly 770,000 square meters of road will be treated as part of the surface dressing programme.
  • The programme is equivalent to almost 100 football pitches.
  • Around 9,000 potholes were fixed in 2024 as part of the programme.
  • The programme uses around 11,500 tonnes of stones.
  • The programme aims to increase the lifespan of roads by up to 10 years.

Sources:

  • Leicestershire County Council
  • Councillor Charles Whitford