Yesterday Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet approved the submission of its local transport delivery plan (LTDP) to the Department for Transport, detailing how it plans to spend £245.5 million of government funding between 2026 - 27 and 2029 - 30.

Councillor Gareth Epps, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “This sets out the latest stage of our investment in transport in Oxfordshire. Across all modes and all the county, we are maintaining and improving our networks.

“This includes an increase in funding for active travel, though not to the level we would expect, as government recognises our increased capability. While some government funding has been unfortunately cut, we remain determined to continue to deliver better transport.

“This county council administration is working hard to deliver better facilities for bus and rail users, walkers, cyclists and drivers, and hope to announce details of additional investment in the future.”

The funding has been allocated for projects including:

• road maintenance, including repairs and preventative measures
• bus improvements, including support for local services, ticketing schemes, vehicle improvements and passenger information
• active travel projects, including the development of walking and cycling schemes and studies and improving infrastructure
• Oxfordshire’s electric vehicle infrastructure strategy
• schemes linked to the Vision Zero programme aimed at eliminating deaths and serious injuries from Oxfordshire’s road by 2050.

Councillor Liz Leffman, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Construction and Repairs, said: “While it’s pleasing to see we are getting the money from the government we expected for highway maintenance, there is still a shortfall. That is why this council also puts a considerable amount of money from our council taxpayers into repairing and maintaining our roads.”

Other items set to be funded include a heavy goods vehicles pilot interventions scheme to support sustainable freight movement across the county, and setting up a mobility hub in Benson to create a sustainable transport network.

The finalised LTDP will be published by the government later this year, although the document will be reviewed annually.

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Oxfordshire County Council carried out the carriageway maintenance and resurfacing programme along the A361 through Banbury, between the junctions with the A422 Hennef Way roundabout and the B4100 Banbury Cross roundabout.

The work began on 24 August and was completed on 10 September – one shift ahead of schedule.

Councillor Liz Leffman, Oxfordshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Highways Construction and Repairs, said: “This was a very important scheme for Banbury as this road runs right through the heart of the town. It was a massive piece of work, and it needed to be done as it has been many years since it was last resurfaced properly.

“The work will extend the life of the road by preventing water getting in, reducing the need for frequent repairs, enhancing skid resistance for safer travel, and smoothing out road surfaces for a more comfortable ride.”

The Banbury work was part of major programme of road improvements. From the end of May until early October, the council and its principal highways contractor M Group are visiting 38 sites to resurface about 115,000 square metres of roads across the county.

While effective, resurfacing is also expensive and disruptive, requiring road closures and diversions. So, in Oxfordshire, resurfacing work has been combined with a wide range of preventative maintenance treatments to improve the quality and longevity of the county’s roads at a lower cost and with less disruption to the public.

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Oxfordshire County Council and its principal highways contractor M Group will be upgrading approximately 32 surface inlay sites, involving over 85,000 square metres of road, and three in-depth carriageway structural maintenance schemes, covering 20,838 square metres.

The programme is designed to renew worn and deteriorated road surfaces, improve driving conditions and reduce the need for more reactive repairs in the future. It also supports the council's commitment to reducing carbon emissions from highway maintenance activities.

Councillor Liz Leffman, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Construction and Repairs, said: “Following the extreme wet and cold weather we experienced last year, we will be using the summer months to get our roads ready to withstand the worst of the winters to come.

“This vital new programme will extend the life of roads by preventing water getting in, reducing the need for frequent repairs, enhancing skid resistance for safer travel, and smoothing out road surfaces.

“Prevention is better than cure. I know from my own division that the roads that were least affected by potholes this winter were the ones that had been resurfaced most recently.”

Richard Lovewell, M Group’s Business Director, said: “Resurfacing is a vital pillar of highway maintenance, alongside preventative measures such as surface dressing and reactive repairs. We’re proud to be once again partnering with Oxfordshire County Council to deliver a comprehensive package of resurfacing.

“By investing in resurfacing at the right time, we can extend the life of the carriageway, improve safety for road users and help prevent more costly repairs in the future.”

In a county first, one of the structural maintenance schemes will incorporate ACLA, an innovative carbon-negative aggregate-like additive. The technology helps maintain the road's structural integrity while permanently locking carbon into the carriageway, contributing to a lower-carbon approach to highway maintenance.

Major roads to be resurfaced include:

• A44 Worcester Road, Chipping Norton (3 - 7 August)
• A40, Swinbrook (5 August)
• A361 Southam Road, Banbury (24 August - September)
• A361 Horsefair, Banbury (27 August - 11 September)
• A361 Southam Road/Horsefair crossroads (9 - 10 September)
• A40, Milton Common (21 - 22 September)
• Thames Street, Oxford (23 September to 24 September)
• Horspath Driftway, Oxford (28 September - 16 October).

Longer resurfacing schemes include:

• Upavon Way, Carterton (17 August - 25 September)
• Lower Icknield Way, Chinnor (29 September - 2 October)
• A44 Cross Hands (24 August - 6 November).

These dates include preliminary work which will usually take place under temporary traffic lights, ahead of the main surfacing work which will require road closures. To minimise public disruption, the surfacing work takes place overnight wherever possible.

All dates are subject to alteration due to the weather.

Motorists are asked to observe the diversion routes which will be in operation while the work takes place.

Updated details about the programme, including a map showing where and when the work will be taking place, is available on the council’s website.

The latest resurfacing work follows the council’s latest £8 million surface dressing road maintenance programme, most of which was completed between April and June.

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Eighty-seven roads will be improved as part of an £8 million Oxfordshire County Council highway maintenance programme beginning this spring.

The council and its principal highway contractor M Group will be visiting 62 towns and villages between April and June to carry out surface dressing work.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “The places with the best roads there are the ones that don’t get potholes in the first place.

“Oxfordshire has some of the busiest roads in the country, with 4.79 billion vehicle miles travelled in 2024. Heavy traffic puts huge strain on road surfaces.

“Reactive pothole repairs are expensive and inefficient. Preventative maintenance, such as surface dressing, is far better value and stops potholes forming in the first place.”

Richard Lovewell, M Group Business Director, said: “Surface dressing is the most cost-effective and efficient way to increase the life of our roads. It prevents water ingress, improves skid resistance and ultimately protects the carriageway from future potholes.

“We’re proud to be supporting the council in delivering this forward-thinking investment in Oxfordshire’s road network. Delivering a programme of this scale demands real teamwork between the council and M Group working alongside our partners Hazell & Jefferies and Wilson & Scott.

“My thanks go out to everyone involved in pulling this complex programme together and to the crews who will be working tirelessly on the ground.”

The council is urging motorists to watch out for notifications of the work taking place and to drive carefully after it has been carried out.

Driving too fast on a recently treated road can result in broken windscreens or chipped paintwork, as the friction from the tyres can dislodge loose chips. There is also an increased risk of skidding while the new chippings ‘bed in’.

For these reasons, an advisory speed limit of 20mph will be put in place. It is important to adhere to these low speeds until all warning signs have been removed.

Surface dressing takes place after existing defects have been patched and involves applying bituminous emulsion onto the road as a binder. This is followed immediately by the application of chippings to dress the emulsion layer.

The method offers many advantages, including:

• Sealing the road surface to keep out water, one of the major causes of deterioration and potholes.
• Reducing the deterioration of the road surface.
• Restoring the necessary level of skid resistance to reduce skid-related traffic collisions.
• Enabling worn out road surfaces to last longer, increasing the time before structural maintenance is required.
• Maximising the cost effectiveness of limited highway maintenance budgets.
• Minimising traffic disruption and congestion as large areas of roads – up to 100,000 square metres – can be treated in a single day.
• The work is highly weather dependent and cannot be completed in wet conditions.

Updated details about the programme, including a map showing where and when the work will be taking place, will be available on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

However, the work is highly weather dependent and cannot be completed in wet conditions. Therefore, the earlier in the spring it can be started, the more likely it can be completed with minimal disruptions as it provides extra leeway for days lost to rain.

Last year, the council treated over 1.4 million square metres of carriageway, whether in full-scale resurfacing programmes or preventative treatments, like surface dressing which prolongs the life of the roads treated by up to 10 years.

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Oxfordshire County Council and its highway contractor M Group will carry out the work to the whole interchange, including the circulatory carriageway and all approaches and exits.

The work will include kerb and drainage maintenance, ironwork adjustments, resurfacing of the existing carriageway and reinstatement of all existing and legal road markings and lines.

Traffic signal loops will also be re-cut to ensure the signals operate with the correct timings and sequencing once the junction reopens.

To minimise disruption, a 24/7 road closure is scheduled from 8pm on Friday 27 February to 5am on Monday 2 March, subject to weather conditions and any unforeseen circumstances, with work taking place both day and night.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “This work is essential to maintaining the safety and long term condition of this busy strategic junction.

“By carrying it out over a single weekend with a full closure, we can complete the work as quickly and efficiently as possible while reducing overall disruption.”

During the closure, the entire Milton Interchange will be closed, including all A4130 approaches and exits towards Didcot and Steventon. There will be no access on or off the A34 at this junction and no vehicular access to or from Park Drive.

A fully signed local diversion route will be in place throughout the work.

Temporary three‑way traffic signals will operate on the A4130 to maintain vehicle access between Didcot, Milton Gate and the services area. Access to Milton Gate and the services complex will not be possible directly via the roundabout.

Access to Milton Park business park will be available using alternative routes through Milton village, Sutton Courtenay or from Didcot to the eastern end of Park Drive.

For safety reasons, there will be no pedestrian access around the roundabout from Milton Heights or Trenchard Avenue. Pedestrians from Park Drive will be diverted through a public right of way, rejoining the A4130 opposite the hotel.

A dedicated pedestrian route between Milton Gate and the services area will remain open, supported by pedestrian marshals. Pedestrian access along the A4130 from Didcot will remain open as far as Milton Gate and the services area.

Scheduled bus services will continue to operate, although routes will be temporarily revised. Passengers are advised to check bus operator websites for the latest information. Staff will be in place at all road closure points to help manage traffic and pedestrians safely and advance warning signs will be in place.

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Oxfordshire County Council and its principal highways contractor M Group will visit 36 sites to carry out essential resurfacing. Work started at the end of June and is scheduled to run until 17 October.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “Resurfacing plays a vital role in maintaining the county’s road network and this shows our ongoing commitment to investing in the highway network, reducing the number of defects and improving people’s journeys.

“This programme will extend the life of roads by preventing water getting in, reducing the need for frequent repairs, enhancing skid resistance for safer travel, and smoothing out road surfaces for a more comfortable ride.”

Richard Lovewell, M Group’s Business Director, said: “We are proud to be working with Oxfordshire County Council to deliver a comprehensive package of surfacing programmes to improve the county’s road network.

“We appreciate the public’s patience and understanding as we carry out these essential works to enhance the quality and safety of Oxfordshire’s roads.”

The programme includes three main types of resurfacing:

• Safety schemes targeting accident prone areas to improve skid resistance.
• Surface inlay work where the road surface has deteriorated but the foundations remain sound. This involves removing and replacing defective layers.
• Structural maintenance, which is more intensive reconstruction for severely damaged roads.

In total, the work will cover over 111,000 square metres of road surface, using nearly 22,000 tonnes of material, with treatment depths ranging from 40mm to 250mm.

Disruption will be kept to a minimum, with work requiring road closures taking place at night wherever possible. However, disruption is likely at some sites where more intensive reconstruction for severely damaged roads is taking place.

The programme will affect some of the county’s A-roads, including:

• A40 Milton Common (July 14-August 22)
• A40 Swinbrook Road/Burford Road (July 29 – August 18)
• B4495 Windmill Road, Headington, Oxford (August 4-5 September)
• B4437 Charlbury (August 5-12)
• A361 Shipton under Wychwood, from Plum Lane to Dog Kennel Lane (August 7-13)
• A361 The Hill, Burford (August 8-20)
• B4044 Eynsham Road, Botley, Oxford (August 11-September 15)
• A420 Longcot (August 14-September 8)
• Tubney, A420 approach to A338 roundabout (August 21-23)
• A40 Witney eastbound bypass, Ducklington (August 25-27)
• Oxford Parkway park and ride surfacing (August 26-28)
• Wantage Road/Station Road, Wallingford (August 26-October 9).
• A40 Witney bypass, B4022 underpass (August 28-29)
• A4155 Reading Road, Henley (September 15-19)
• Banbury Road, Oxford, from St Margaret’s Road to South Park Road (September 18-October 9)
• A4155 Reading Road, Henley, from Station Road to Friday Street (October 8-15).

These dates include preliminary work which will usually take place under temporary traffic lights, ahead of the main surfacing work which will require road closures. All dates are subject to alteration due to the weather.

Motorists are asked to observe the diversion routes which will be in operation while the work takes place.

Updated details about the programme, including a map showing where and when the work will be taking place, is available on the council’s website. However, the programme will be subject to alterations depending on the weather.

The latest resurfacing work follows the council’s surface dressing road maintenance programme, most of which was completed between April and June.

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Road users are now being asked to watch out for the next stage, which will involve highway crews repainting the lines and markings, and installing reflective road studs in the coming weeks.

Phase one of Oxfordshire County Council’s £7.4 million surface dressing programme, delivered by its highway contractor M Group, began in April and finished on 15 June. Around 70 towns and villages were visited, with 938,336sq m of carriageway treated.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “We were very lucky with the weather this spring and early summer. Surface dressing is extremely weather dependent, and we only had to rearrange a handful of shifts due to rain.

“We are grateful for the cooperation of road users during this time and ask them to be patient during the repainting process too. I hope they are noticing the improved quality of many of these roads.”

The road markings programme began earlier this month and is scheduled to be completed by mid-July. It can only be started around four weeks after the surface has been treated.

The second phase of the surface dressing programme will take place from 30 August - 8 September. This followed requests to avoid disruption to two key locations during the main phase and will take the total amount of carriageway treated to over a million square metres.

Updated details about the programme, including a map showing where and when the work will be taking place, will be available on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

Richard Lovewell, M Group Business Director, said: “We’re very pleased to be supporting Oxfordshire County Council to deliver another widescale surface dressing programme.

“A programme of this scale and complexity requires exemplary collaboration across all partners from the council to our sub-contractors Hazell and Jefferies and Wilson and Scott. Thanks to all involved, especially the teams who have been working in sometimes gruelling heat to get the programme completed to schedule in order to minimise disruption to the public.”

Surface dressing is a cost-effective highway maintenance measure which, on average, extends the service life of a road by eight to 10 years. It seals the road surface to keep out water, one of the major causes of deterioration and potholes.

It involves applying bituminous emulsion on to the road as a binder. This is followed immediately by the application of chippings to dress the emulsion layer.

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Oxfordshire County Council and its contractor will be visiting 73 towns and villages between 22 April - 16 June to carry out surface dressing work.

Over one million square metres of carriageway will be treated.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “Prevention is better than cure, and this work builds on a similar programme of work, which we carried out last year.

“We realise how important the quality of our roads is to our residents and this work will help keep many miles of highways in a better condition for years to come. Surface dressing is one of the most cost effective methods of roads maintenance, with the spring and summer being the best time to complete the work.

“The council is urging motorists to watch out for notifications of the work taking place and to drive carefully after it has been carried out.”

Driving too fast on a recently treated road can result in broken windscreens or chipped paintwork, as the friction from the tyres can dislodge loose chips. There is also an increased risk of skidding while the new chippings ‘bed in’.

For these reasons, an advisory speed limit of 20mph will be put in place. It is important to adhere to these low speeds until all warning signs have been removed.

Surface dressing involves applying bituminous emulsion onto the road as a binder. This is followed immediately by the application of chippings to dress the emulsion layer.

The method offers many advantages, including:

• Sealing the road surface to keep out water, one of the major causes of deterioration and potholes.
• Reducing the deterioration of the road surface.
• Restoring the necessary level of skid resistance to reduce skid-related traffic collisions.
• Enabling worn out road surfaces to last longer, increasing the time before structural maintenance is required.
• Maximising the cost effectiveness of limited highway maintenance budgets.
• Minimising traffic disruption and congestion as large areas of roads – up to 100,000 square metres – can be treated in a single day.
• The work is highly weather dependent and cannot be completed in wet conditions.

Updated details about the programme, including a map showing where and when the work will be taking place, will be available on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

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Diversions will be in place between 8pm on Friday 2 August and 6am on Monday 5 August while the roundabout is closed.

Motorists are asked to be aware of the closure and to use the suggested alternative routes.

There will be no travel along the eastern bypass between the Heyford Hill roundabout and the B480 Cowley Road interchange in both directions during the closure.

Westbound traffic travelling along the eastern bypass will be reduced from dual carriageway to a single lane, with traffic then taken off at the B480 Cowley interchange to join the signed diversion route.

Eastbound traffic travelling along the eastern bypass will be subject to a similar lane closure as well as a speed reduction, so traffic arrives at the Heyford Hill roundabout in a single lane at safer speeds. From there, traffic will be diverted around the diversion route.

The Sandy Lane West slip road will also be closed where it joins the eastern bypass heading west towards Littlemore roundabout.

Bus companies will still operate a service between Sandford-on-Thames into the city. This will utilise Oxford Road, Cowley Road, and Church Cowley Road before resuming its usual route.

Arrangements are in place for residents in the affected area to continue to access their homes while the closure is in place.

By carrying out the work over a single 24/7 closure, the resurfacing can be completed quicker and more cost effectively with as little disruption as possible.

There will be separate crews working both day and night to ensure continuous working throughout.

The alternative approach would have seen the work taking place over 11 separate nights of closures, causing more disruption to residents and businesses, increasing the cost, and leading to a potentially poorer standard of work due to more opportunities for water to enter the road surface.

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Oxfordshire County Council carried out the work using ‘cold recycling’ with its contractor Milestone Infrastructure and its supply chain partners Aggregate Industries, Drayton Construction, Hazell & Jeffries and OCL Regeneration in September and October.

During this programme, over 4,000 tonnes of cold recycled material was laid, saving an estimated 75 tonnes of carbon – equivalent to 92 flights from London to New York. It also avoids the environmental impact of disposing of thousands of tonnes of waste planings – the top layer of road surfaces removed due to damage – and the need to extract virgin aggregates.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “This is just the latest in a series of schemes we are carrying out with our contractor to improve the quality of Oxfordshire’s roads. By embracing innovation, we are making our residents’ money go further, helping ease the burden on highways budget and cutting carbon emissions in our own projects.”

Five schemes were completed across the county using cold recycling:

• Park Road, Didcot
• Kingham Hill Lane, near Cornwell
• Merton Road, Ambrosden
• B4450 Station Road, Kingham
• Aston Road, near Ducklington.

This technique involves recycling stockpiled road planings and processing them ready to be reused in resurfacing projects.

This material, known as Foambase® or cold recycled bound material, uses 94 per cent of recycled aggregates bound with foamed bitumen and other hydraulic binders. It uses just five per cent of the energy compared to that used in the manufacture of traditional asphalt. This offers a 50 per cent savings in embodied carbon compared with using standard materials.

Richard Lovewell, Business Director for Milestone on the Oxfordshire Contract, said: “Carbon reduction is a key strategic target for both Milestone and Oxfordshire County Council. It is therefore imperative that we look for new ways of working to maximise the use of recycled materials within our highway maintenance contract.

“Our innovative solution of recycling waste materials arising from other maintenance schemes not only reduces carbon emissions but also creates cost savings, especially through not having to pay high specialist disposal costs. This delivers the dual benefit of additional reinvestment into the county council road network whilst taking another step to achieve Milestone’s target of net zero by 2040.

“This project is another great example of Milestone and Oxfordshire County Council working together to deliver sustainable solutions to maintain the county’s roads.”

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Oxfordshire County Council is carrying out the trial in North Street, Middle Barton, with its contractor Milestone Infrastructure and their partner Aggregate Industries to develop the use of Gipave – a Graphene Plus-enhanced asphalt.

North Street is the third Oxfordshire site to trial the innovative material. A 725-metre stretch of the road will be laid with Gipave, while an adjacent length of road will be resurfaced using conventional high performance asphalt, so that the two surfaces can be compared accurately.

It follows a successful pilot scheme in Curbridge in 2019 – the first use of the product in the UK – and a trial on Oxford’s Marsh Lane in March 2022.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “We know how important the quality of our roads is to our residents. That is why we’re delighted to be involved in this latest trial to see how we can make our residents’ money go further and make our road surfaces stay in good condition for longer.

“Innovation is at the heart of what our highway teams do, as we have shown with previous Gipave trials and our recent event in Steventon where Milestone tested seven different pothole repair methods on the same road. Increasing the lifespan of road surfaces will reduce the need for resurfacing work, ease the burden on highways budgets, and cut carbon emissions for the life cycle of a stretch of road.”

Phil Raven, Head of Technical Design for Milestone on the Oxfordshire Contract, said: “This is another significant step to test the benefits that this innovative material can bring. As we look for new ways to reduce carbon emissions within highways maintenance, developing materials that last longer is an important part of Milestone’s plan towards achieving net zero by 2040.

“Not only can this lead to longer term carbon reduction, it has the potential to reduce disruption to road users and achieve long term savings for highway authorities. This trial project demonstrates the benefits of international industry collaboration with a highway authority that is committed to trialling new innovations.”

Gipave, which has been developed by Iterchimica, also uses waste plastics which would not normally be recycled. Meanwhile the asphalt containing Gipave can itself be entirely recycled – promoting the ‘circular economy’ which reduces waste and the need for new materials.

Recent in-service testing and analysis of the original 2019 trial site showed the new asphalt material is forecast to increase the lifespan of the asphalt pavement by approximately 165 per cent compared to conventional resurfacing methods, with a corresponding carbon saving of 40 per cent over 20 years.

The Middle Barton scheme is a £450,000 resurfacing project which also includes kerb and drainage repairs. The scheme started on 17 July and is planned to last for four weeks.

The surfacing works are being carried out under full overnight road closures to reduce the disruption to road users and local businesses and residents.

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Work will be carried out on the A4144 Woodstock Road, between the Wolvercote roundabout and St Anne’s College, just north of St Giles, 10 – 25 August.

To minimise disruption, the work is taking place between 8pm and 5am, and two-way temporary traffic lights will be in operation over a short section to avoid closing the road. Side roads will be closed if they fall within the traffic lights while the work is taking place.

All traffic management will be removed outside of the working hours and at weekends and marshals will be in place to help manage the flow of vehicles and assist motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and residents.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “This is a key road into Oxford and so it is important that this vital work is carried out to improve the carriageway.

“Because of the closure of the Botley Road due to Network Rail’s redevelopment of Oxford Station, this work is taking place overnight and during the school holidays to reduce the impact on the rest of the network.”

Bus services will continue as normal along the Woodstock Road although some stops will be suspended if they fall within the extent of the traffic management.

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Marsh Lane in Oxford, which carries around 10,000 vehicles a day along a key city route, will be used to trial GiPave – a graphene-enhanced asphalt material. Half of a 700-metre stretch of the road will be laid with GiPave, while the rest will be resurfaced using conventional asphalt, so that the two surfaces can be compared accurately.

Oxfordshire County Council is carrying out the trial with its contractor Milestone Infrastructure to develop the use of innovative materials. Marsh Lane will be the second trial of GiPave in Oxfordshire, following a successful pilot scheme in Curbridge in 2019 – the first use of the product in the UK.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “We are committed to improving the quality of the county’s roads as best we can within the limited budget we get from the government. That’s why we’re so keen to be at the forefront of innovation by using new materials such as GiPave, which will keep our road surfaces in a better condition for longer – meaning better value for money for our council taxpayers and smoother surfaces for motorists.”

Increasing the lifespan of road surfaces will reduce the need for resurfacing work, ease the burden on highways budgets, and cut carbon emissions for the life cycle of a stretch of road.

Phil Raven, Head of Technical Design for Milestone on the Oxfordshire Contract, said: “This is an important trial to further test the benefits that this innovative material can bring. As we look for new ways to reduce carbon emissions within highways maintenance, developing materials that last longer is an important part of our plan towards net zero.

“Not only can this lead to longer term carbon reduction, it has the potential to reduce disruption to road users and achieve long-term savings for highway authorities. This trial project demonstrates the benefits of industry collaboration with a highway authority that is committed to trialling new innovations.”

GiPave, which has been developed by Iterchimica, also uses waste plastics that would not normally be recycled. Meanwhile the asphalt containing GiPave can itself be entirely recycled – promoting the ‘circular economy,’ which reduces waste and the need for new materials.

Analysis of the previous trial in 2019 at Curbridge showed GiPave increases the lifespan of the surface by up to 70 per cent compared to conventional resurfacing methods. The risk of rutting under loads from heavy goods vehicles is reduced by increased stiffness in the product.

This Marsh Lane trial is aiming to review how the material compares on part of the network that is carrying more traffic. Initial design calculations estimate Milestone Infrastructure’s use of the GiPave material can deliver at least a 35 per cent increase in durability compared to other high-performance materials.

The Marsh Lane roadworks are part of a £1 million, nine-week project of resurfacing between the A40 Northern Bypass overbridge and Brookfield Crescent, kerb and footway repairs and drainage improvements.

The first phase started on Monday 24 January and will last for six weeks. It will include kerb and footway repairs and drainage improvements. It will be carried out during the day under temporary traffic signals.

The second phase is due to start on Monday 7 March and will last for three weeks. This will be carried out in stages and will involve the closure of Marsh Lane, with signed diversion routes in place during this period. Work will be carried out from 7pm - 6am and Marsh Lane will be fully reopened to traffic outside of these periods.

To minimise the impact to residents during the night-time working phase, the noisiest activities will stop by 11pm. Although the remaining operations are not completely silent, the site team will be briefed to complete the work with as little disruption and as quietly as is practicably possible.

More information about the project, including regular updates, can be found on the Marsh Lane webpage of the Oxfordshire County Council website.

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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.

As you can see from the pictures the big machinery was brought out to remove a layer and replace it with nice new, flat 'blacktop'.