ROAD resurfacing has begun on rural and residential roads in the Weymouth and Dorchester areas.

Work began on Monday as part of Dorset Council’s annual ‘surface dressing programme’.

The maintenance is designed to prolong the life of roads by coating them with a waterproof seal that also increases skid resistance. Dorset Highways’ annual road maintenance programmed includes a mixture of surface dressing as well as patching, micro-surfacing, road preservation and resurfacing.

Around 446,000m2 of road surfaces will be restored this year.

Cllr Ray Bryan, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: “It’s been proven that early, preventative maintenance is the most cost-effective way to maintain roads, and surface dressing is an important part of the road treatment cycle.

“Our targeted maintenance approach – to carry out repairs specific to the damage evidenced in the individual road – ensures we can carry out maintenance on more roads compared to solely using resurfacing. This also reduces emissions by using less raw material and creating less waste.”

The resurfacing scheme will take place on a rolling programme spanning approximately three months. During the resurfacing works roads will be closed with on-street parking suspended to allow the work to take place. Drivers can travel on the road as soon as the work is finished, with slow moving vehicles helping to further embed the stone chippings.

A sweeper travels along the road within 48 hours to clear any immediate surplus stone, with line markings reinstated shortly afterwards.

As the work is highly weather dependent, residents are being asked to look out for yellow advance warning signs in their area which will provide the most accurate information.

Working times will be between the hours of 5am and 6pm. Work cannot take place at night due to the necessary evaporation process and will not be carried out over the weekend or on Bank Holidays.

Work for week starting Tuesday, May 3:

• Bridlebank Way, Weymouth

• Westhaven, Weymouth

• Russell Avenue Weymouth

• St. Leonards Road, Weymouth

• Newberry Road, Weymouth

• Williams Avenue, Weymouth

• Fairview Road, Weymouth

• Walker Crescent, Weymouth

• Park Estate Road, Portland