00:00 Surface dressing is a highway maintenance treatment used across the world. Sometimes
00:20 referred to as tar spray and chippings, the modern materials and process means the surface
00:25 can last for over 10 years. East Riding of Yorkshire Council carries out a programme
00:32 of surface dressing each summer to protect and preserve around 80 miles of roads across
00:37 the network. Roads get worn over time. This is due to the weather, the ageing of road
00:47 materials and the impact vehicles have on the road surface. Throughout the year, highway
00:53 engineers carry out regular checks to identify which roads are in need of repair. Some roads
01:00 may need reconstruction, but if the existing road is in reasonable condition, surface dressing
01:05 is used. Surface dressing is around one fifth of the cost of replacing the whole road and
01:12 means we can make our budgets go further. We normally treat around 200 different sites
01:19 each year across our 2,200 miles of road network. Initially, the crews fix potholes and defects
01:29 in the road surface. This is called patching and is sometimes done several months in advance.
01:37 Just before we apply the dressing, warning and information signs are put in place. Manhole
01:43 covers and gullies are also masked with a hessian tape which is removed afterwards.
01:51 Crews then spray the existing road surface with a hot sticky liquid called binder. This
01:58 is covered with stone chippings, which are then rolled into the binder. Traffic can access
02:10 the road almost immediately after the surface is rolled. As soon as the binder is set, a
02:16 mechanical sweeper sweeps the road to remove as many loose chippings as possible. These
02:23 will later be recycled. There will be some loose chippings on the road for a few days
02:29 until it beds down. The road can be used during this time with traffic observing the 20 mph
02:37 speed limit. After about a week, the road is swept again to pick up any final loose
02:44 chippings before the new road markings are applied and the temporary speed limit and
02:51 warning signs are removed. During a typical surface dressing season, we will lay almost
02:58 16,000 tonnes of chippings across an area, the equivalent of 150 football pitches. Surface
03:07 dressing always takes place in spring and summer as it requires warmer road and air
03:11 temperatures for the binder to set and the chippings to embed properly. The process is
03:19 also affected by extreme heat or heavy rain, when work will have to stop until conditions
03:24 cool down or dry up. This can mean we may be delayed getting to a site where we have
03:30 placed signs for a particular day. Surface dressing provides a water resistant and frost
03:37 protective layer which prevents potholes forming on a road for years to come. It also provides
03:43 improved skid resistance and a uniform appearance with new road markings, which all helps to
03:49 create safe roads. Inevitably, there is some short term disruption, but this is kept to
03:55 a minimum as most sites are surface dressed the same day. Large areas can be resurfaced
04:03 quickly and traffic can use the roads almost immediately at low speeds. East Riding of
04:12 Yorkshire Council will continue to invest in surface dressing as a valuable form of
04:17 preventative highway maintenance, which improves the future safety and serviceability of our
04:25 roads.
04:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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