In 2023, the RAC published an analysis of government data, which highlighted that the amount of surface dressing undertaken by 153 road authorities in England had fallen by 34% in 2021/2022 down to 3,551 miles - a significant reduction compared to 2017/2018. The analysis also showed that the length of road resurfacing had fallen too, down 29% to 1,123 miles in the same timeframe. These figures are indicative of a mounting pothole problem, but why are road repairs being neglected in the first place? Keep reading to find out more.
What is Surface Dressing?
Resurfacing involves removing the top layer – sometimes referred to as the wearing course – of the road and replacing it with a new one. For surface dressings, a bitumen binder is sprayed onto the road and stone chippings are then spread on top.
The great thing about surface dressing and other similar treatments is that they prolong the life of a road. Cracks that could turn into potholes over time are filled in, surface friction is improved and an extra layer of protection is added.
Surface treatments make sense from a carbon perspective too. The RTSA says that surface dressings can save 75% of carbon emissions over a 60-to-90-year lifecycle. (Carbon emissions for various surface treatment and other repair methods can be found in the RTSA’s guide).
Why are Potholes on the Rise?
While surface dressings are an effective solution for tackling blemishes, the challenge for authorities is unsurprisingly a financial one. Already meagre funds must be directed to firefighting - i.e. fixing existing potholes – rather than preventative measures. This is evidenced by the RAC’s research revealing that 31% of the highway authorities included in the latest data (2021-2022) did no resurfacing in 2021/2022, while 51% carried out no surface dressing.
However, according to the Road Surface Treatment Association (RTSA), it costs £5 per square metre to surface dress a heavily trafficked A or B road compared to £30 per square metre for conventional asphalt resurfacing. The RTSA also suggests that regular surface treatment can save two-thirds of the cost on a 60-year life cycle for heavily trafficked roads, and 90 years for lightly trafficked roads. Meanwhile, the RAC’s head of policy Simon Williams suggests that Government funding to fix potholes without funding for ongoing maintenance and preservation is like throwing good money after bad: “While the Government has made more money available to authorities to fill potholes, it’s the general reduction in road improvement work that’s causing potholes to appear in the first place.”.
How Can Thermal Road Repairs Help?
At Thermal Road Repairs, our goal in developing low-carbon pothole repair technology is to provide a solution that restores surfaces once and for all. Spending limited funds on repeatedly fixing the same pothole as it reforms over and over just doesn’t make sense. We would urge highways authorities to assess the longevity of different pothole repair techniques and make decisions accordingly.
It’s also worth considering that surface treatments can fail if applied over some types of pothole repair. Opting for a Thermal Road Repairs solution, where there’s no joint between old and new material, means that there is no residual weak point that may eventually fail.
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Thermal Road Repairs is a road construction company specialising in green technology. We supply road machinery to improve the quality, cost and time efficiency of road repairs and paving – all at a far lower environmental cost than traditional methods. We invest heavily in R&D to create new technologies and to continuously improve existing ones. For more information, please get in touch with us.
Thermal Road Repairs: Decarbonising the asphalt repair industry.
High output. Low emission. Zero waste. Permanent solution.
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