THE county’s roads are getting a summer makeover, with £15 million being spent on highways improvements.

Dorset County Council has 37 resurfacing projects listed for this year, with 11 of them already complete.

Highways staff have resurfaced 12km of road during 2016 to date.

A budget of £5.5 million has been allocated for the resurfacing and restructuring work that needs to be carried.

Treatment will repair structural failure in the lower layers of the road, as well as restoring shape and strength.

Structurally sound routes across the county will be maintained with a £2 million programme of “surface dressing” to maximise their longevity.

Surface dressing involves treating the road in order to seal it from water damage, improve skid resistance and preserve its good condition to reduce the need for expensive resurfacing work in the future.

The surface dressing work in Dorset is set to be completed by highways staff before the end of August.

Andrew Martin, DCC head of highways, said: “Residents frequently tell us that road condition is a key priority, and we’ve developed a management strategy which is aimed at keeping our network in as good a condition as possible with the budget we have available.

“We’re using a number of different treatments to deal with the varying degree of repair needed, and embracing new technologies wherever possible to ensure we are using our budget efficiently.”

A further £2.5 million has been earmarked by the authority for repairing surface defects on key routes and £2 million has been allocated for carrying out bridge repair work.

The council will spend £1 million on drainage works, £500,000 on resurfacing public footpaths and £350,000 on replacing traffic signals.

Mr Martin added: “Residents can report road defects online, or speak to their local county councillor if they have a particular concern with the condition of a road in their area.”

Updates regarding ongoing roadworks and any road closures connected to the work will be posted on Twitter via @TravelDorset and will also appear on dorsetforyou.com.