More than 100 Surrey roads to be resurfaced in effort to combat potholes

A £8.5 million highways maintenance programme will kick off this summer

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05:00, 10 JUN 2024

The A14 in Cambridgeshire was closed westbound this morning (May 24) due to overrunning roadworks — More than 100 roads are marked for re surfacing (Image: Ian Dennis/Getty Images)

More than 100 roads in Surrey will be resurfaced as part of a £8.5m highways maintenance programme this summer. Aimed at preventing potholes, 85 miles of the county’s busiest roads will be made more resilient using surface dressing.

This method is meant to make roads more resilient and prolong their life by over ten years. Highways teams will carry out the work from June to August this year, subject to weather conditions.

Lucy Monie, Director of Highways and Transport at Surrey County Council, said: “We understand that the state of our roads continues to be a source of frustration for our residents.

“The increasingly wet weather really impacts our roads – which are some of the busiest in the country. This is why here in Surrey, we’re investing nearly £300m in repairing and improving Surrey’s roads and pavements by 2028.

“This includes our upcoming surface dressing programme which will significantly strengthen many miles of Surrey’s busiest roads and prevent deterioration in years to come. This year’s programme will be the biggest surface dressing programme ever undertaken in Surrey.”

Specifically, surface dressing involves spraying bitumen binder (a sticky tar-like substance) on a clean, dry road surface, over which stone chippings are spread. The surface is rolled to embed the stones into the bitumen. Some loose stones will remain on the road surface for about a week but the weight of vehicles passing over these loose stones will force them into the bitumen to finish the new road surface.

Surrey County Council says that the advantages of this system include sealing the road surface to keep out water which in turn helps prevent potholes from forming. The council also hopes it will minimise traffic disruption as large areas of roads can be treated in a single day.

A selection of potholes from Guildford (Image: Victoria Shipp)

Immediately after laying surface dressing is vulnerable to fast or turning traffic meaning motorists will be temporarily asked to keep their speed down.

You can see the council's interactive map of roads included in this year’s programme here or see a list below. Residents will be informed when work is taking place in their area. As this type of work is weather dependent, bad weather may mean on some occasions, works have to be rescheduled at short notice. The schemes may be subject to change.

The roads are: