Smoother roads across Oxfordshire after hard work in 2020

Cllr Liam Walker visiting the micro asphalt contractors in Carterton

Cllr Liam Walker, front centre, visiting the micro asphalt contractors in Carterton

Dozens of neighbourhoods across Oxfordshire are enjoying smoother roads and pavements after this year’s ‘micro-surfacing’ programme came to an end.

Oxfordshire County Council contractors took advantage of the milder weather between spring and autumn to treat 26 sites with ‘micro asphalt’ – a cost-effective and convenient method which protects surfaces for around 10 years.

After visiting the team in Carterton, Councillor Liam Walker, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Delivery and Operations said: “It was great to see our contractors in action recently whilst they carried out resurfacing work in West Oxfordshire as they concluded our micro asphalt programme for the year. Our new supplier for this service, Hazell & Jefferies, have done a brilliant job at various locations across Oxfordshire.

“I’m looking forward to seeing lots more of this work taking place in next year’s programme. This reaffirms our commitment to get our roads and pavements up to scratch as we continue to invest more money to achieve this.”

‘Micro’ is a surface treatment for protecting and prolonging the existing structural integrity of a carriageway without the need for more costly and disruptive repairs. The council has been running micro programmes since 2016, due to the number of advantages it has over conventional resurfacing:

It is applied cold, so traffic can often use a treated road just 20 minutes after micro asphalt has been installed.
More work can be completed during a day, minimising traffic disruption and congestion.
It seals the surface, keeping out water from the pavement structure and minimising pothole formation.
It can reshape and re-profile existing surfaces by filling shallow defects such as potholes, cracks and ruts.

This year’s programme treated 26 sites around Oxfordshire, covering 4.6km of carriageway with 76 tonnes of binder, 520 tonnes of stone and 5.3 tonnes of cement.

Although its initial appearance appears untidy and unfinished, as the treatment receives embedment from passing vehicles, mechanical sweeping to remove excess chippings, and absorption or evaporation of the chemicals within the mixture, the appearance will improve over the following weeks and months.

The standard material is typically used on residential roads but it can be installed on various classifications – including dual carriageways – with tweaks to the material specification.