Highways crews across Kent are working to improve the standard of the county’s roads.
Crews are resurfacing, surface-dressing or micro surfacing a number of roads across the county to seal them from damage caused by harsh winter weather, protecting the significant investment in ‘Find and Fix’ pothole repairs to make council taxpayers’ money go further. They are also carrying out improvement repairs to a number of footways. Funding for some of this was made available by the Government.
In some circumstances summer resurfacing will be carried out at night. This is to minimise inconvenience to road users. The council aims to avoid road closures for these works – but this is not always possible, for example, some roads are too narrow to allow for safe operation of machinery. If residents or businesses have particular access needs, crews will do their best to help.
David Brazier, Kent County Council cabinet member for transport and environment, said: “Over the past few years we have significantly increased the money we spend on pothole repairs, and increased the money we spend on surface treatments.
“You can now see the benefits of this pro-active approach in the reduced incidence of potholes following the recent severe winter and in the average time taken to fix these potholes, which has fallen dramatically from more than 40 days three years ago, to around a fortnight this year. As a result of this pro-active approach, we are also suffering fewer insurance claims because the roads are in an overall better condition.
“The summer campaign will see our crews out around Kent. This work needs to be done – and drivers can help by playing their part, by making sure their vehicles are not parked on the road when work is due to be carried out, and when driving, by paying heed to road signs and speed restrictions on newly-surfaced roads. This prevents new material from being damaged before it has completely set and prevents your vehicle from being damaged by any loose chippings.”
