Clackmannanshire Council Online

Restoring Road Surfaces

Restoring Road Surfaces

Surface dressing

Surface dressing is a long established proven road maintenance technique. It involves spraying a coating of bitumen onto the road surface followed by one or more layers of hard stone chippings. As the bitumen sets, the chippings stick to the road surface and are further embedded by rolling in.

It takes a day or so for dressing to settle down and vehicles running carefully on the surface help it to compact. Unfortunately the excess chippings cannot be swept prior to the treatment setting.

The works are undertaken between May and September, as the successful application of the treatment is weather dependent.

Advantages of surface dressing

• Extends the life of the carriageway surface
• Makes the road waterproof and protects it against frost and winter damage (which cause potholes)
• Improves skid resistance, making the road safer to drive on
• Is comparatively low-cost at around a quarter of the price of resurfacing.
• Traffic can be allowed to run on the new surface almost immediately, avoiding lengthy closures and disruption

Disadvantages of surface dressing

• Drivers need to travel very slowly on the newly laid surface to prevent chippings being dislodged
• Inconsiderate drivers travelling above the recommended speed cause chippings to be thrown up which can damage other vehicles and property.

What we will do

• Give advance notice of works to residents and drivers wherever possible
• Minimise hazards and disruption to traffic through correct use of traffic control

What you can do

• Keep to the recommended speed limit on recently treated roads
• Never overtake on a newly treated surface

We know that surface dressing is not popular with road users but it is an extremely cost effective treatment when used in a balanced roads maintenance regime. The treatment can be likened to painting one's house. It needs doing before deterioration occurs and means that expensive resurfacing is not required.