Council begins work on 60 miles of essential road improvements in Northumberland

Around 60 miles of roads across 35 areas in Northumberland will be repaired and improved in the annual ‘surface dressing’ initiative. 

This repair method is used where the existing road surface has worn over a period of several years, leading to minor cracks and allowing water to enter and cause damage, resulting in potholes and reduced skidding resistance of the road. 

Paul Jones, the council’s director of environment and transport said: “These roads are essential connectors between our communities and it’s crucial they are kept in a good state of repair. 

“Our annual programme of surface dressing will see improvements to roads across the county. During the works there may be minor delays for road users but these will be kept to a minimum.

 “We’d ask drivers to take extra care and follow the speed limit signs on the recently surface dressed roads until essential road sweeping has taken place to remove loose road chippings.” 

Teams have been carrying out patching works along the length of road before the surface dressing treatment takes place, which then seals the cracks, protects the underlying road structure and restores the texture.

The work forms part of Northumberland County Council’s Local Transport Plan Programme, and this year the authority will be investing £36m in maintaining and improving the county’s highway and transport network. 

You can find out more about the council’s local transport plan here.