NEARLY 600 miles of Hampshire roads will be given a new lease of life this summer. 

Hampshire County Council's annual programme of road surface strengthening includes 400 locations.

Sites are selected for surface dressing based on an assessment of the road’s condition including the level of potholes, cracking and other defects.

Surface dressing involves the application of fresh stone onto a layer of bitumen binder. The loose stones are then embedded by rubber rollers with remaining loose chippings then swept up. Surface dressing cannot happen if the road is wet as the moisture will prevent the bond between the chippings and asphalt.

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Cllr Nick Adams-King, executive lead member for universal services, said: “We know that potholes and other road defects are a cause of frustration to residents and motorists which is why we invest in a range of ways to make Hampshire’s roads stronger. Surface dressing treatments help to slow the natural deterioration of roads and reduce the occurrence of potholes and other road defects, as well as giving the road more grip to boost safety. It’s a cost-efficient way to target roads that carry the most traffic so are most at risk of wear and tear, helping taxpayers’ money to go further at a time when our budget is extremely stretched.

“These treatments are applied during the summer months because the process needs warm, dry weather to be successful. I’d like to thank road users for their patience during any periods of temporary disruption while the work is being completed. Summer is also the optimal time to fix potholes and we are continuing to focus more resources on repairing road defects following another challenging winter. Furthermore, additional funds from Government are enabling us to carry out 19 larger resurfacing and repair schemes across the county.”

Where surface dressing is being carried out, road closures will usually be in place from 9.30am to 4pm, with a few exceptions. 

For more details, visit: one.network/ and hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/plannedmaintenance. 

To report potholes, visit hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/roadproblems.

The full list is below:

Bloswood Lane to Larks Barrow Hill - Hurstbourne Priors
Belle Vue Road - Old Basing and Lychpit
From Eastrop Roundabout to Ringway East over bridge - A3010 Churchill Way East
A343 Junction - Penwood
From Hockford Lane to Old Lane - Ashford Hill
Winchester Road - Kingsclere
A30 from Kempshott Roundabout to Brighton Hill Roundabout – central Basingstoke
A33 Reading Road from Turgis Court Road to the county boundary - Stratfield Turgis
B3400 London Road from Ashe Lane to Ladies Walk - Ashe
Great Binfields Road to Swing Swang Lane - Daneshill